8 Years Later
by TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne
Summary: The Titans split up and go their separate ways and after 8 years Raven and BB cross paths. Resurrecting the story, with some big changes. Chapter 44 is posted.
1. Chapter 1

Some of you will remember this story. The first 20 chapters were pretty good. The 15 that came after, they were … well, not very good. I was so dissatisfied that I killed the whole story over a year ago. I've decided to bring it back. I'm going to clean up the first 20 chapters, of which I will publish 2 per week and after that I will add new chapters. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about A Bull's Eye on Her Back, which I will resume when I finish carved in stone.

And for those who review, I promised to bring back the mail bag.

Now, onto the new story. For those of you who haven't read it before, it's set about 14 years after the Titans first met, and as expected … a lot has changed in that time. Rather than spoiling the chapter, I'll let you read it.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin our final descent and the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seatbelt sign. We should be touching down at Jump City International Airport in about 10 minutes. On behalf of our flight crew I would like to thank you for choosing Trans Continental Airlines. We know that you have a choice of who to fly with and …"

The young man tuned out the announcement on the airliner's PA system and instead he focused on looking out his window. He was greeted by the city's famous landmarks: its azure bay, which sparkled in the late afternoon sun like a blue sheet covered with tiny diamonds. Then there was the famous suspension bridge, over which the airliner flew. Rush hour traffic scurried across it in both directions.

And then he saw the T shaped tower. The last ferries of the day were transporting tourists back to the mainland. It had been years since any superheroes actually lived in Titans Tower, and the landmark had been converted into a Federal National Monument, not unlike the Statue of Liberty in New York.

The jet zoomed past the landmarks and continued its approach to the airport, where it landed without incident a few minutes later.

The young man was seated near the rear of the plane and knew that there was no point in rushing to get up and off of the airliner. He waited patiently and after the plane was nearly empty he collected his carry on items and proceeded to baggage claim, where he still had to wait for his luggage to appear. Once he collected his luggage he moved on to the rental car counter, and a few minutes later he was on the bus that took him to the rental car lot.

He hired a compact car and was soon on his way out of the airport. It had been years since he had last been in the "Gem of California" as the bayside city was known and yet it felt as if he had never left. The city seemed both familiar and strange to him, familiar sights mingled with new ones. The freeway had an extra lane now and he hummed as he drove. His smartphone was resting on the passenger's seat, barking directions at, not that he needed any help navigating around towm. The traffic wasn't too bad and he made good progress down the bayside freeway and soon reached the exit he was looking for: India Street.

He exited the freeway and drove down the ramp and was suddenly in Jump City's "Little Italy". The streets were lined with all sorts of shops and more than a few Italian restaurants. Unoccupied parking spaces were nowhere to be found, but he knew that wouldn't be a problem. He was looking for a particular establishment where he wanted to stop before checking in to his hotel. He turned left on Grape St. and after driving down a few blocks he found it, right where it was supposed to be.

The building was a nondescript two story structure, and looked like it was built in the 1930's and it was obvious that it was recently remodeled as its façade was immaculate. The second floor was clearly an apartment while the lower level was a storefront. A small painted sign above the shop's entrance identified the establishment: "Azarathia – Books, Antiques and Collectibles." Another sign with a large red arrow announced: "Parking in rear."

He guided the compact rental car into the alley that led to the rear and parked it there. Other than his rental there was only another car, also a compact, parked in the lot. He emerged from the vehicle and entered the shop through its rear entrance, and a chime announced his arrival with an otherworldly timber. He slowly entered the shop and began to peruse through the store until a gravelly female voice called out in a monotone: "I'll be right there!"

The hour was late and he could tell that she was getting ready to close. He couldn't see her but her voice clearly came out of a small storage room. He smiled as he replied.

"Take your time Raven, I'm in no hurry."

The sound of a stack of books being dropped onto the store's creaky hardwood floor was heard, the dull thud resonated throughout the small store.

Raven emerged from behind a curtain that separated the store front from the storage room. She was wearing a long black dress with her signature blue cape and hood, which was lowered, exposing her shoulder length violet hair. She froze as she stared, mesmerized, at her unexpected visitor.

"Gar?" She croaked in surprise.

He grinned at her.

"Do you know any other good looking green guys?" He asked.

She continued to stare at him, until she broke the now uncomfortable silence.

"Why didn't you tell me you would be in town? It's been what, five years since we last saw each other?"

He smiled bashfully before replying.

"I know, I should have called ahead, I just wanted to see the look on your face." He answered as he approached her, opening his arms for a hug.

Raven at first hesitated but then she too opened her arms and the two friends greeted each other properly as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"How are you Rae?" He asked after they released each other.

"I'm doing fine Gar. How about you? Have you finished school yet?"

"I just did, I received a PhD in zoology and a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State. How about you?"

"I was awarded my PhD in Archeology and Ancient History two years ago, here at UC Jump City"

Gar looked around the store, nodding approvingly.

"So this is Azarathia, huh? It's pretty cool. I'm surprised there isn't anyone here."

"It's almost closing time, plus most of my business is online … Gar … don't take this the wrong way … but … why are you here? You didn't come to Jump City just to visit me, did you?"

"Actually, I'm starting a new job here in town in a few weeks and I wanted to tell you in person."

"You mean you're moving back?"

"That's right." He beamed.

"Where? I mean, what are you going to do?"

He looked out the storefront window and saw an Italian restaurant across the street: "Salvatore's"

"Is that place any good?" He gestured at the restaurant.

"Actually, it is."

"Then let me buy you dinner and I'll tell you all about it."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"One Pasta Primavera for Miss Raven and an Eggplant Parmesano for the long absent Beast Boy!" The restaurant's proprietor announced as he took their orders. "And a glass of my best Chianti for Miss Raven and a beer for …"

"Actually, I prefer to be called Changeling now, if you don't mind."

The owner cracked a huge grin.

"As you wish, one beer for Changeling. I will be right back with your drinks."

As soon as the waiter left Raven gave Gar an inquisitive look.

"Oh yeah, I was going to tell you why I'm in town, about my new job."

"Well? Don't keep me waiting."

He gave her a mischievous grin, one she hadn't seen … since the team broke up.

"I'm going to start next semester as an Associate Professor at UC Jump City."

Raven's eyes bulged in surprise.

"As an Associate Professor? You're skipping the Assistant level? But you just graduated! How did you pull that off, and at UC no less?"

Gar smiled while their drinks were delivered.

"Remember that virus that broke out last year?"

"You mean the one that was killing out all the dogs? How could anyone forget? Half the dogs in the world died before the vaccine was created."

"That's right. Guess who invented the vaccine?"

"You did." She remarked in an astonished voice and paused as she was overwhelmed with the news.

"Gar, I'm so proud of you."

He suddenly had a look on his face that reminded her of when he was a young teen, a mixture of bashful and insecure.

"I'm just glad I was able to stop the epidemic. Anyway, the semester starts in a few weeks and I have to find a place to live and …"

"You can stay with me, Gar. I have a guest room in my home above the store. It's yours if you want it."

Gar was unable to conceal his surprise.

"Really? Uh … why?"

Raven sighed as she took a sip of her wine.

"Things haven't been the same since we dissolved the Titans."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean Rae. What hasn't been the same?"

Raven put her wine glass down.

"When we folded the team, we all had plans. Nightwing and Starfire married and moved to Bludhaven and they had a daughter. Cyborg went home to Metropolis to work with his father at STAR Labs. You went off to Colorado to get your PhD and DVM …"

"And you got your PhD and started your cool store." He interrupted.

Raven had a taciturn look on her face.

"Yes, I did. Gar … I know this is going to sound strange … especially coming from me …"

He gave her a puzzled look.

"Gar, did you have any girlfriends at CSU?"

He shook his head.

"Nah. You know Rae, the funny thing about being a green celebrity is that a lot of girls want to date you, but that's all they want to do. It's like I was some kind of novelty there, the green ex-superhero. After a date or two they figured out that I really was different and lost interest … fast. After a couple of years I just quit the dating scene, which I guess was a good thing as I had a ton of school work to do. How about you?"

She took another sip of her wine.

"I never dated. No one ever approached me and the few times I reached out I got shot down."

"You mean you asked guys out and they said no?"

"Basically … what I heard from my fellow female students was that I 'intimidate' the guys."

"Well … you could kick their asses with both arms tied behind your back."

"Yeah, I guess … I also tried a dating service … I never got a call, and everyone I asked politely declined."

"Their loss." He interjected.

She smiled appreciatively for a moment before the sad look returned to her face.

"I don't have any friends in school, none at all. I buried myself into my studies and after I graduated I started Azarathia. It's been a good business, I've already made enough money to retire, but if I did … what would I do?"

He took her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"I'm so lonely, Gar. Isn't it ironic? I always wanted to be left alone, barricading myself in my room. And now I miss all of you, so much that it hurts sometimes. Since we broke up the team I've only seen Starfire twice. You're the only other one I've seen since that day …"

"Rae, why didn't you call me? I would have come out to see you..."

"No … you were working on your degrees, I couldn't interrupt that, not because I'm a creepy misfit …" Her voice began to break up.

The proprietor approached with their meals. Gar looked up.

"I'm sorry; could we get those to go?"

The owner was able to see that Raven was on the verge of a break down.

"That won't be a problem. I'll be right back."

The man darted back into the kitchen while Gar, who was sitting opposite of Raven in a booth, moved so that he was sitting next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Remember what I told you once … a long time ago?"

She nodded.

"You said: You think you're alone Raven, but you're not. But I am alone Gar. I'm a freak with no friends … sometimes I feel that … my mind … that I'm going to lose it."

Gar fought off a shiver, recalling when Starfire told them how Raven was institutionalized in the future she visited when she chased Warp through one of his time portals.

"That's not true. I'm your friend and I'm here. And I'll take you up on your offer, Rave."

She sniffled as the waiter returned with their food in a bag. Gar noticed that there was also a bottle of wine in the bag.

"How much do I owe you?" Gar asked as he reached for his wallet.

The owner shook his head and nodded towards Raven who was facing away from them.

"How could I possibly charge two former Titans?" He remarked offhandedly.

"Thanks, but that was a long time ago, I really insist on …"

"Out of the question." The owner cut him off. "Enjoy your evening, and if you need anything else, just phone and I'll send it over."

The proprietor, Salvatore Biaggi, watched as Gar picked up the bag and wrapped an arm around Raven, and continued to watch as they crossed the street and vanished into Raven's store. His wife emerged from the kitchen and watched as well.

"Thank God he has returned, I am getting so worried about her." She remarked softly while her husband nodded.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Let me clean up." He offered after they finished eating.

The truth was that other than a few dishes that needed rinsing before being loaded into the dishwasher there wasn't much to clean up. Raven's apartment was spacious and tastefully decorated. While Azarathia downstairs resembled her old room in the Tower with its collection of strange, unusual and even dark artifacts, these were conspicuously absent from her apartment. Her home was also meticulously clean.

"I can do it later Gar, just sit with me, please." She said as she guided him to the living room. He poured them refills for the wine and followed her.

"Have you seen the others?" She asked.

"Only Cyborg, when I went to a conference in Metropolis 3 years ago. But I did see someone else."

"Terra?" She asked with a hint of apprehension in her voice.

He chuckled.

"She was also in Metropolis. She married a biologist and they have 3 kids. He seems like a nice guy. Nice kids too, none of them inherited her powers."

"Three children? Has it really been that long?" She asked.

"Well, we're almost 30 years old. I guess time does fly."

They were sitting together on a couch. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.

"Thanks Gar."

"For what?"

"For always being my friend, even though I treated you like garbage sometimes."

"Forget it, that was a long time ago." He remarked as he picked up a photo album from the coffee table and opened it.

It was an album full of pictures from their days in the Tower. There was one shot, taken on Gar's 16th birthday. She was standing next to him while he had an arm draped around her shoulder with a goofy grin on his face. He was still shorter than her in the photo in contrast to the present where he was now a mere 1 inch taller than her. They were outdoors and her cape was billowing in the wind, revealing her feminine figure.

"I never told you this back then Rave, but when we were Titans I thought you were smoking hot."

"What? Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to offend you."

She laughed in a self deprecating chuckle.

"I guess at least I learned that 12 years later. I stopped wearing the leotard after we broke up the team. I tried dressing like my peers at college but it seemed wrong. After a couple of years I basically switched to what I'm wearing now."

"Do you still have the leotards?"

She nodded.

"I do. Once in a while I'll put one on and look at myself in the mirror, for old time's sake."

"I'll bet you're still smoking hot in that leotard."

"Don't make fun of me."

"I'm serious. You look great, Raven. I on the other hand, well, Star was right; I'm already starting to lose my hair! Once I'm bald then I really won't have a chance with the ladies."

She rose from her seat.

"You worry too much about that." She replied in her monotone. "It's late; let me show you your room."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Gar walked down the hall. Raven walked next to him, his luggage floating behind them, engulfed in her dark energy.

"Here it is, I hope you like it."

He peered inside. There was a 4 poster queen sized bed and a chest of drawers, along with a desk. The craftsmanship was impeccable and he could tell that it was expensive furniture, probably Amish in its manufacture.

"It's cozy, thanks Rave."

"You can stay with me as long as you want."

"I know, well, I guess it's time to hit the hay."

He turned around and gave her a gentle hug, she reciprocated and as they separated he gave her a very chaste kiss on the lips. Raven flinched upon receiving the unexpected smooch. He smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry Rave … you know … back at school I kissed so many girls that I wasn't all that crazy about that I figured it was about time I kissed a girl I really do like. I guess that was kind of rude, I should have asked."

"It's OK." She stammered. "It's just … that was my first kiss."

"It was!? Oh Rave, I'm sorry!"

She shook her head.

"Don't apologize. It was nice, actually … before I leave, do you need anything?"

He shook his head.

"Well goodnight then. I'm going to meditate now for a while."

"Gotcha, I won't interrupt. Goodnight Rave, see you in the morning."

Raven returned to her room, which like the rest of her apartment, was furnished and decorated in a conventional style. There were a few artifacts from her past in the room and she picked one up from her desk.

Her meditation mirror was unchanged from the old days in the Tower and she hadn't used it in years. She picked it up and gazed into it. She felt herself being drawn into the artifact and the next thing she knew she was once again in Nevermore, standing in the strange landscape that looked like an alien world with a dark sky full of red stars. She was met by four emoticlones.

Happy was the first to greet her.

"He came back Ravie! He came back for us! He flew in on an airplane!" Happy squealed with glee as she held her arms out like an airplane's wings while she made a propeller like sound, running around like a small child.

Raven also noticed that Brave was present, along with Rude and another emoticlone she had not seen before in Nevermore. The mystery girl wore a hot pink cape.

"Please tell me that isn't who I think she is." She mumbled to herself.

Brave approached her and slapped her on her back.

"Way to go girl! We got our Beastie Boo back under our roof where he belongs!" The green clad Raven congratulated her.

Then the pink clad Raven approached. Her cape billowed and it was plain to see that she was only wearing a very revealing thong bikini. Raven grimaced, knowing that the lustful pink girl was part of her own psyche.

"So, when do we make our move, Ravie? Oh Azar, he kissed us! Next stop: second base!" Lust gushed.

"Don't be ridiculous." Raven replied. "He's my best friend, not my lover."

"He could be our lover. He's lonely too, he told us; remember? He hasn't dated in years. C'mon Raven, no guts, no glory." Brave interjected.

"You know you want him." Lust added.

Rude snickered. "We just have to invite him into our bed, he won't say no …"

"SHUT UP!" Raven shouted. "I didn't come to see you, I came to see Wisdom."

"Wisdom? She's not even an emotion!" Brave protested. "Why do you want to see that nerd?"

"Because she helps me keep you idiots in check!" Raven snarled back at them.

"You mean she helps you keep yourself in check, Raven." Lust added. "In case you haven't noticed, we're 28 years old sweetie and we're still virgins. He's the one Raven, we have to bag him while we can."

Raven turned away from the four facets of her mind, disgusted with herself, knowing full well that those base feelings she had witnessed were her own. To her immense relief they did not follow her and soon enough she encountered both Knowledge and Wisdom.

"Welcome Raven, it's been a long time since your last visit." Wisdom announced.

"It has been a long time. You know why I'm here."

They nodded.

"Garfield has returned." Knowledge announced.

"And you don't know what to do." Wisdom added.

"Was it a good idea to ask him to move in with me?" Raven asked.

"Are you afraid of him?" Wisdom asked.

"Should I be?"

"No, he loves you and will protect you. He always has." Knowledge remarked.

"I know." Raven replied. "I'm more afraid of myself. I'm afraid that I'll be so pathetic that I'll scare him away."

A third girl appeared. Her cape was a light green.

"Do not rush into this Raven. I know that you do feel desire for him, but now is not the time for such a bold move. Instead you should grow and nurture your friendship with him. Take all the time you need."

"Patience is correct Raven. Your best friend has returned. Show him that he is your best friend, everything else will follow by itself." Wisdom added.

Raven jerked and found herself sitting on her bed. The clock on her nightstand said that it was well past 2 AM. She rose and walked out of her room and glided down the hallway until she reached his door. After hesitating for a moment she phased through it.

He was sound asleep in his bed and she gingerly approached him. She looked down upon him and ran her fingers through his hair. He didn't move and continued sleeping. She kneeled so that she was at his eye level and gently kissed him on his forehead. He rustled and Raven quickly teleported out of his room, not wishing to be caught with her fingers in the cookie jar.

He did not wake up. His smart phone was awake however, and it chirped as an email arrived.

_From: Silas Stone_

_To: Garfield Logan_

_Garfield, forgive me for bothering you, but I need your help. Victor went out on some sort of excursion 3 weeks ago and we haven't heard from him. I contacted Nightwing a week ago to ask him if he knows where Victor is, but he never replied. I know Victor can take care of himself, but he usually checks in when he's away that long. Any help would be appreciated._

_Silas Stone._

_**-( scene break )-**_

And I slipped in a mini cliff hanger in the first chapter. This one is going to be different from my other stories, I hope you like it.


	2. On Eagles Wings

Raven bolted awake, sweat dripping down her forehead. It was the third time that night, after returning from her sojourn in Nevermore. She wiped her forehead dry before picking up her alarm clock. It was now 5:30 AM. She sat up and swung herself around, letting her feet fall to the floor. She deliberated what to do next until she restored the clock to her nightstand and stood.

There was no point in trying to get some sleep. She had an 8 o'clock appointment with one of her customers, but that wasn't what on her mind.

She sighed and she replayed her experience in the mysterious confines of Nevermore, and it troubled her. She had always thought of Garfield as a friend, or at least that's what she told herself. That was her story and she intended on sticking with it. The problem was that not a single one of the emoticlones she encountered in her mind were buying her story. It was expected that Lust would suggest am erotic encounter with the changeling, that was her job after all. But Brave and Rude were also on board with project "Bag the green changeling." That disturbed her to no end.

She pondered the implications and they were not good. For some reason she was intent on moving the changeling from the friend zone to the lover zone. It made no sense, she had only seen him once in the past 8 years. Sure always called her on her birthday … and Christmas, and … ok he called her a lot, officially it was just to check up on her, and she always put on a masterful performance, always leading him to believe that she was fine, when in fact she wasn't.

The others also called, but far less frequently. She was suddenly feeling pangs of regret. After all the years in the Tower and the countless ways she had mistreated him, he only repaid her with kindness. She felt ashamed of herself.

But there was something else … when the team dissolved he was still a gangly 19 year old. Sure, he had grown taller and she no longer towered above him. But he was still a boy when he departed and now … now he was a man.

This realization was hardly lost on her. It was perfectly clear to her that she felt stirrings within herself, her emoticlones didn't lie. She was thrilled to see him again, but Brave was quite right. She wanted him under her roof.

She bit her lip as she felt ashamed of herself. She has posed as a friend … but deep down she wanted him. This was wrong … he was a friend … a good friend, a close friend … someone she … loved.

All sorts of nagging doubts ran through her mind. What if he wasn't interested in her that way? Why would he feel that way? She knew that she was creepy, foul tempered and undesirable … that the men on campus had avoided her like the plague spoke volumes in that regard. What on Earth made her even think that he could possibly have romantic feelings toward her.

_So this is what the 'friend zone' feels like._

Raven snapped out of her funk and headed to the kitchen to prepare some tea. As she opened her fridge to get some milk for her brew she realized she had nothing vegetarian to feed him. She skipped her tea and instead dressed quickly before rushing out to the grocery store.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Gar stretched as he sat up and yawned. The sun was high enough in the summer sky that he knew he overslept, not that it mattered. Originally this day had been set aside for apartment hunting but that was no longer required. He glanced at the old school alarm clock on the night stand and saw that its arms indicated that it was past 9:30. He scratched his butt as he got up and trudged over to his suit case and opened it, debating on what to wear that day.

Recalling that he was moving in with Raven he began to unpack his suit cases, hanging some garments in the closet and placing others in the chest of drawers. As he opened the third case he saw them. Smiling he pulled them out and set them on the bed, which was still unmade, and continued to unpack. Once he was done he picked some fresh underwear, still debating what to wear that day.

He looked out the bedroom window. Raven's apartment had an unobstructed view of the bay and he saw Titans Tower in the distance. The city seemed like a friend he hadn't seen in a long time, a friend who had changed but was fundamentally still the same person. Someone he wanted to catch up with, to spend time with.

Someone like Raven.

He picked up the outfit he placed on the bed and headed off to the bathroom.

After showering, dressing and completing his morning grooming he made his way to the kitchen. There was a small dinette table in the kitchen. It was draped in an immaculately clean table cloth and there was a placemat with a setting. There was a bowl and a spoon on the placemat and the table was adorned with a small vase that contained some freshly cut flowers. Next to the vase was an unopened box of Captain Crunch with a large yellow Post-it stuck on it. Gar reached and peeled it off the cereal box, revealing the Captain's cheery face. He read the message on the note:

_Sorry, this is all I could round up for you on short notice. There's soymilk and juice in the fridge – Raven._

Gar smiled. He had given up sugary cereals years ago, but he figured that it wouldn't hurt him to have a bowl or two …

_**-( scene break )-**_

"You're wonderful Raven, simply amazing! Only you can find the artifacts that I need and want!" A man wearing a turban remarked boisterously. "How much do I owe you today?"

"Thank you Ranesh. What can I say? You're my best customer." Raven replied as she tallied up his purchases.

"That will be four thousand, three hundred and twenty eight dollars." She informed him.

"And worth every penny." He replied as he began to write a check. "You will let me know when the Babylonian relics arrive?"

"I'll be going out of town to inspect them personally. I don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

"Oh yes, the counterfeits. You did catch them before delivering them to me that time."

As Raven began to pack Ranesh's purchase into a box she heard the stairs creak.

"About time you got up, sleepyhead!" She called out. "I was wondering if you were going to fall back on you r old bad habits and sleep in until noon!"

Gar emerged from the storage room, out of Raven's line of sight. Ranesh smiled when he saw him.

"You are Beast Boy, correct?" The man asked.

"I used to be, but I go by Professor Logan these days."

"Yes, yes! Miss Raven was telling me that you will begin teaching at UC this fall. Congratulations!"

Ranesh picked up his box and bade Raven and Gar farewell. Once he walked out the door Raven turned around to give Gar a proper good morning greeting, but instead did a double take.

"You're wearing your Doom Patrol costume?"

He smiled sheepishly before answering.

"If I morph when I'm wearing my civvies they'll get ruined. I was thinking of going flying for a while, to check out the city."

She nodded.

"Of course, you haven't been here in years."

"Wanna come with me?" He asked. "We can get some lunch later."

Raven smiled.

"Sure, why not? I don't have any more appointments today and I'm all caught up with the internet sales."

She flicked her wrist and the front door locked and the "Open/Closed" sign flipped around, displaying the ubiquitous "Sorry, we're closed".

"Ready when you are." He grinned.

Raven hesitated for a moment.

"Just give me a minute." She replied as she phased into the ground and disappeared.

While he waited Gar began to peruse a stack of books she had on the main counter. Every single one was hand written in some strange script he had never seen before. Just as he put them back Raven reemerged from another portal in the floor. He turned around and smiled, as she had changed into her signature black leotard and blue boots. She extended her arms, raising her cape and exposing her now more mature and voluptuous figure.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked.

From the look on his face she could tell that he liked what he saw. He gestured as if sticking his index finger in his mouth and then touched her shoulder, making a hissing/sizzling sound with his mouth.

"If you were any hotter, you'd be on fire."

"Yeah, yeah Mr. Smooth Talker. So where do you want to go first?"

"Isn't it obvious? Let's go to Titan's Tower!"

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ walked out the back door. After Raven locked it and cast a security spell on the building they took off, heading off to the city's most famous landmark.

Meanwhile, Gar's phone remained on his nightstand as he forgot it. It began to ring and the screen identified the caller's name before it went to voice mail.

It was Silas Stone.

_**-( scene break )-**_

It was a beautiful day to fly over the sparkling bay and Raven felt her spirit soar as the wind blew in her face. It was years since she last went out flying and the experience made her feel as if she was once again 16 years old. Gar shifted between a series of birds and was now a giant condor. Raven felt joy in her heart to see the magnificent bird flying beside her, and felt as if she had travelled back in time and was once again a Teen Titan. Her intellect reminded her that she was still 28 years old as did her now much more ample bosom and hips.

But she didn't care, and she continued to revel in her flight. The image of Happy running around, her arms stuck out like airplane wings formed in her mind and she embraced it.

She was also able to feel Gar's emotions and he was in the throes of near ecstasy as he surfed the warm summer thermals. She knew that he enjoyed his avian forms the most and he was clearly enthralled with the experience. His joy was as bright as the morning sun above them and she secretly prayed that it would never end.

He turned his condor head towards her and squawked before gesturing with his beak towards the waters below. Raven looked down and saw that the first ferry of the morning was headed towards the island, brimming with sightseers on their way to see the now museum like tower. She nodded at him and he morphed into an eagle after which he began a steep dive towards the small ship. She leaned over and followed him down in his descent.

They weren't even halfway to the ferry when the passengers who were standing outside saw them approach. Raven felt a wave of surprise and delight grow from the passengers. From her vantage point she could see the adults pointing in their direction while the children began to hop and jump in their excitement.

The two retired heroes leveled off from their dives and flew alongside the ferry, and the passengers, who had not been expecting to actually see two former Titans began to wave at them and called out their names. Raven waved back before she and Gar sped up and left the ferry behind.

They continued at their brisk pace and soon they approached ferry dock. A couple of National Park employees were already there; ready to secure the ferry when it arrived. They stared in disbelief as the couple landed on the dock and Gar morphed back into his human form.

"No way!" The first dockworker, a young redheaded woman exclaimed as she dropped a coiled up rope. "It's really you!"

"Are the others coming too?" Her companion, a young male, asked as well.

"Sorry guys, it's just us today." The changeling responded. "Uh, so where do we buy our tickets?"

At first the two park workers were too stunned to answer. Finally, the girl spoke up.

"Admission is included with the ferry ride."

"Well, as you can tell, we didn't come over on the ferry. Do we have to go back and buy our tickets in the city?" Raven asked.

"That won't be necessary." Another voice interrupted. "Welcome to Titan's Island. I'm Marcia Dale and I'm the superintendant. I hope that you'll be pleased with what we have done here."

"Greetings, Miss Dale." Raven replied in her monotone. "We thought we would drop in for old time's sake."

"And we are not only honored, but … heck … we're tickled pink that you're here. Anyway, please feel free to roam anywhere you want. The velvet ropes don't apply to you, just regular visitors. No one's here yet but the first ferry should arrive in 15 minutes. Once they're here, well, you'll be mobbed." The woman smiled.

"We'll be fine. C'mon Rae, let's go!" He said as he took her hand. They ran off together into the main entry hall.

The first thing they noticed was that the two rows of upholstered chairs that lined each wall in the long room were gone and were replaced with multiple free standing exhibits. One was a showcase that contained replicas of the uniforms they wore. Another was a diorama of the Gordanian ship crashing into the bay. There was also a mannequin dressed up like Slade, with a plaque that commemorated his capture and imprisonment 10 years ago.

"It is a museum." Gar whispered to Raven as they boarded the elevator.

When the doors swished open their breath was nearly taken away as they stepped out into the common room. As Miss Dale had mentioned, most of it was cordoned off by the ubiquitous velvet ropes, which they ignored as they explored the room they had last seen eight years before.

Gar laughed when he saw the now very obsolete GameStation XL on the coffee table in front of the circular couch. Raven watched him pick up the controller and sensed a tsunami of nostalgia emanate from him. He sat down on the couch and instinctively began to search for the TV's remote control, and found it. Much to his chagrin it was glued to the table.

Raven wandered off to explore the kitchen, where she found an electric tea kettle and a box of herbal tea. She chuckled, as they chose the wrong flavor to display. She always hated chamomile tea, but she had to give them credit, they remembered that she liked herbal tea. She blanched though at the huge, tacky mug next to the kettle which had her name printed on it. As if she would ever drink tea out of something like that.

"They're coming Rae, I can hear the elevator…"

"Let's move on." She agreed.

They made their way through the rest of the Tower, staying a step ahead of the other visitors. The evidence room was unchanged; Robin's office bore no resemblance to the way it really looked in the past. In the garage there was a replica of the T-Car and the still broken Tidwell scooter was there too, which had a plaque next to it explaining that this was the actual scooter Beast Boy rode on when he defeated the Nufu invaders single handedly.

They continued to tour their former home and both agreed that it felt … strange. Their next stop was in Gar's old room. Once again they stepped past the velvet ropes and explored the room. Raven inspected the abode and nodded approvingly as they had every detail there down pat. Even the bedspreads on the bunk beds were the original ones or were perfect replicas.

"This is completely wrong!" He griped. "They totally ruined my room!"

"They did? But how?"

He grinned mischievously at her.

"Can't you tell? It's super obvious!"

"I'm sorry Gar, but this is the most authentic room in the Tower. Every artifact here, even if it's a reproduction, is authentic looking. So what's wrong with it?"

"IT'S CLEAN!" He said with a clearly mock voice of disgust. "Where's the unfinished pizza? They could have dipped it in acrylic to preserve it!"

Raven was standing next to him and gave him a friendly shoulder to shoulder shove.

"Gar, you aren't gonna make a pigsty out of my house, are you?" She asked, only half in jest.

"Don't worry Rae; I've been housebroken since I went to Colorado."

The next stop was Raven's old room. Once again the attention to detail in preserving it was commendable. Raven left her old furniture behind when she left and she walked up to her old bed and caressed the hood shaped headboard.

"Damn, I was creepy back then." She said to no one in particular. "They did a really good job reproducing all the artifacts … but …"

"It feels wrong. It feels fake." He completed the sentence for her.

She nodded before replying.

"So the saying is true. You can't go home. Because it's changed, it doesn't exist anymore …"

"Rae, you ready to go get something to eat?"

"Yes … I think I've seen enough here … you know Gar, I never thought I would find a museum I didn't like."

She turned and looked him in eyes.

"But in this case, I'm ready to leave."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Any luck Master Bruce?"

The Dark Knight reclined back in his chair, which was in front of his master console. His cowl was removed and judging from the expression on his face the question was rhetorical.

"Not a sign of them. They vanished into thin air three weeks ago. I even contacted Tamaran, but they aren't there either."

"You don't expect foul play, Master Bruce?"

"I'm not sure. The Cyborg is also missing."

"And what about Miss Roth and Master Garfield?"

"I don't know. She runs a small store in Jump City and he just graduated and took on a Professorate at UC Jump City. I'm debating on whether or not I should contact them."

"Debating sir?"

"They're retired Alfred. They aren't superheroes anymore. They can't help us."

"Do you think they are in any danger? They still have their powers after all."

"It's hard to say. I just found out she's coming to Gotham on business in a couple of days. I'll contact her then."

"And what about the changeling?"

"Something tells me he'll be coming with her."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Hello? Is this Dr. Stone? … Hi … yes this is Garfield Logan … yes … you're right … it's Dr. Logan now … thank you sir … let me put you on the speakerphone. Raven … that's right … Dr. Roth … she's here too."

Gar pressed the speakerphone button and placed the handset in its cradle.

"Garfield! Raven! I finally reached you!"

"I'm sorry sir, I left my phone at home this morning … are you sure Cy's disappeared?"

"He's dropped that name Garfield. We all just call by his given name, Victor. And yes, he's vanished."

"Dr. Stone." Raven interrupted. "Are you sure no one has seen him? I mean, he does kind of stand out in a crowd."

"He's updated his tech. He now looks completely normal; his implants look 100% natural. He even started growing hair again."

"Have you checked with his friends?" Gar asked.

"All of them. I just found out that his fiancée is missing as well, she disappeared the same day he did."

"Whoa ! You're saying that he's engaged? I never heard about this!"

"I know Garfield; they announced their engagement just a few days before they disappeared. I don't like this girl. She's manipulative and controlling. I'm sure that she told him to not tell you."

"Maybe … they eloped?" Raven suggested.

"That's what I thought at first, but you'd think that they would contact us to let us know, but they haven't. We waited two weeks and we decided to contact Nightwing and Starfire. They never replied … something is going on … I'm sorry … I know that you and Raven are retired from the hero business, but I don't know where else to turn."

Dr. Stone's voice was trembling and it was obvious even over the phone that he was close to breaking down.

"I have a business trip scheduled to Gotham the day after tomorrow. We'll try to contact Batman to see if he knows where Nightwing and Starfire are. Don't worry Dr. Stone, the four of us will find him."

"Thank you, Raven. I already feel better. I'll let you go now. I'm sorry for imposing on both you …"

"Hey, Vic's our best bud, of course we're gonna find him. Now you stop worrying and leave it to us." Gar interjected.

The phone call ended and a dial tone was heard over the speakerphone, which Raven muted. She turned to him and sighed.

"Once a superhero, always a superhero." She said in her monotone.

"Titans forever." He added. "I've never been to Gotham, much less to Bludhaven."

"Neither have I … Gar … I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, me too."

_**-( scene break )-**_

We'll we're off to a pretty decent start here, better than I hoped for. What's especially pleasing is that I'm seeing reviews from new readers.

So anyway … it's mail bag time!

**TW **- "Nice to see you trying to rewrite this story it's actually one of my favorites."

_Thanks! Hopefully the second time around it will be better!_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "8 Years Later Remastered."

_Digitally remastered (I'm remastering it on a computer)_

**krostovikraven1** - "very interesting. imagine Gar as a professor, lol, the girls will go to his class just to see him, i know i would. jijijij XD . Good thing he came back before she went crazy like Star saw before. i hope Victor is ok."

_You mean like on Indiana Jones when all the coeds fawned over him?_

**La5021** - "Yes! I'm so happy you've decided to continue this :D"

_I knew I would, it was just a question of when._

**RavenOfObsidian** - "I didn't read the first one but damn! This is getting real good real quick! The suspense with cyborg is killing me and raven and changeling together is just too cute! I like this a lot :)"

_Yeah, I wasn't happy with it so I killed it. I might also yank Carved in Stone after I finish it, as I'm also not terribly pleased with it._

**Thisguy720** - "Well i loved this story the first time around. Cant see what you add this time. Its very exciting :D, by the way i really liked this chapter"

_I think that opening chapters are one of my strengths. Finishing stories, now that's where I could improve._

**Shadico** - "I remember reading this a while ago...but I can't remember how it went at all."

_Perfect, you get to enjoy it all over again for the first time _

**greenhatred77** - "thank you for bringing this back. i was looking for this story several months ago and i was disappointed to find that you deleted it. i'm so glad you revived it."

_Now if only we could get the original show back and not the parody of it that the new show is._

**DeeThom** - "I vaguely remember this story although I can't remember how it went but I'm glad to see it re-born. This was one of my personal favorites."

_I'm surprised tat so many of you are still around. I started this story about 2 years ago._

**JOHNXgambit** - "now i can read it from the start, honestly I like the story the first time around just sayin"

_I know that many of you liked it fine the way it was, but it bothered me because I knew it could be far better._

**LSUABW** - "This story shows lots of promise, just like Carved in Stone and Bulls Eye! Can't wait to read more! You're a terrific writer!"

_Thanks!_

_**Anoymous136**_ - "Are you gonna change the big themes of the story?"

_Yes and no. The first half will be mostly unchanged; the second half will be completely different. I'm dumping the second half where they train the next generation Titans._

**discb** - "Good start, glad to see this is back."

_Thanks!_

**Densharr** - "Glad to see you're redoing this - the original was good, but I agree when you said that it lacked a certain... something after the first dozen chapters."

_No doubt, the second half was weak. Even though the story had 500+ reviews I still chose to delete it._

**TheThoughtsofKarasu** - "Very nice! And just to be sure, Carved in Stone and Bulls Eye on Her Back ARE going to be continued? I panicked slightly when I saw this, I thought you were going to drop the other two. No worries though! I'd love to see where this goes, it sounds interesting."

_Carved in Stone is almost done. Then I will resume Bulls Eye and write it in parallel to this story._

**titanfan45** - "I am really glad you are bringing this one back. When you deleted the original, I missed rereading the fist chapter as I really like Beast Boy and Raven's reunion. Having him impress her with his revelation of him being the one to create the vaccine that saved the world's dogs was perfect. I am very much looking forward to seeing how this plays out this time around. Thanks for giving this story another chance."

_If anyone would come up with that vaccine, it would have to be BB._


	3. Missing Friends

As the airliner banked to the left Gar was able to see the city below them. It was late in the afternoon and the five hour transcontinental flight was almost over. Gotham appeared to be baking in a smoggy, summer afternoon haze, and the flight attendant had just announced that Gotham City was in the middle of a heat wave, with temperatures in the triple digits.

He was feeling irritated with the situation. He didn't care for commercial airline travel, what with the subsonic jets (he really missed the T-Ship) and being herded through security checkpoints like cattle. TSA treated them like ordinary people in spite of their former superhero status, and even pulled him aside to pat him down. He wondered if Raven's former reputation as the "Scary Titan" still lingered as she was waived through that part of the screening process.

The truth was that beyond that he had little to complain about. Raven booked them in first class and paid for the tickets, even though he protested. It was then that he found out that she really was a millionaire and that her small store was a veritable gold mine that cleared monthly profits as high as $200,000. She also booked them a room at the Gotham Four Seasons. He checked online on his smart phone and he discovered that rooms in that hotel started at $800 a night. Her extravagance puzzled him as in other ways she was quite frugal. For one thing, her car was a 6 year old Volkswagen hatchback. She kept it immaculate of course and it only had 27,000 miles on the odometer, but still … she could have a much cooler set of wheels if she really so desired.

She spent most of the flight meditating and she opened her eyes at that very moment and placed her hand on his own ungloved mitten, which was resting on the oversized armrest that separated their expensive first class seats. He turned to her and they made eye contact.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Refreshed, were you able to nap?"

He grinned as he replied.

"Are you kidding? I'm the king of naps! You know, my animal DNA and all that stuff."

She continued to absentmindedly caress his hand.

"Something tells me you didn't have a lot of time to nap while working in your dual degrees, Doctor."

"That's true, but it wasn't as hard as you think. There was a lot of overlap between the two programs. My PhD dissertation was about a new technique for creating vaccines that neutralize retro-viruses. It's what I used to create the vaccine for the C1H4 virus."

"Right, the dog plague. Gar, why did you remain anonymous about that? The press releases only said that the vaccine was developed at Colorado State's school of veterinary medicine. You're an anonymous hero to hundreds of millions of pet owners around the world."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess after being a Titan all those years I had my fill of being in the limelight. And people still call me Beast Boy; even though I officially changed my hero name to 'Changeling' during the team's final year ... I'm so jealous of Nightwing."

"You are? Why?"

"Aw c'mon Rave! He got way taller and buffed out, and everyone in the media accepted his new identity right away. He's also good looking and he's married to a total babe."

"You're talking about Starfire, you know."

"I know, but she is hot. So he's a winner, meanwhile I couldn't get a steady girlfriend in college to save my life. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised they still call me Beast Boy. I'm five foot nothing and I'm scrawny. I still look like a boy…"

"No, you don't." She interrupted.

"Thanks Rave, but you're not a very good liar."

"You're a man, Gar; you stopped being a boy the day you saved me from Adonis. And don't be jealous of Nightwing. Some women don't like overly muscled men and are actually attracted to a more natural, lean physique like yours."

"Really? And how do you know that?"

"I just do."

He stared blankly at her, trying to process what she had just told him. In the end he decided to take her word for it.

"Rave?"

"Yes?"

"You've also changed."

"What do you mean? How?"

He paused, weighing his words carefully.

"You're the way you used to be, before Rage got loose the day Dr. Light pushed you over the edge."

She gave him a puzzled look.

"You were softer, more mellow before that happened. Even after getting Rage back under control … well … you just weren't the same again. But now … you remind me of how you used to be."

This time it was Raven who was struggling with what she had just heard.

"I wasn't aware that I changed." She stammered.

"Well, I'm glad you changed back. After you first changed … I missed you … but I did notice that you slowly began to change back into your old self after you beat your … I mean Trigon."

"It's OK Gar; I've come to terms with the fact that he's my father."

An uncomfortable silence followed, which Gar finally took the initiative to break.

"So what's the plan for tonight? How are we gonna find the Bat? Nightwing never told us who Batman is. Heck, he never told us who he is."

"I think Batman knows we're coming Gar. He'll probably find us first."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The bellhop opened the door to the suite and gestured to the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ to enter first. Gar's jaw almost dropped when he saw the luxurious room. This definitely wasn't the La Quinta Inn. In addition to being huge the suite was exquisitely furnished. The bell hop pushed the luggage trolley through the door and set up their suitcases so they would be ready to unpack.

"The bar has been restocked." The bellhop announced, gesturing at the fully stocked bar in the suite as he gave them a quick tour of the room. Starting with the living room area, where a cellophane basket of fruit, cheese and three bottles of wine was prominently displayed he explained how to connect to the hotel's Wi-Fi network. He then showed them the bedroom, which had two king sized beds. Without entering the bath he explained that the bathroom was fully supplied with toiletries and had a marble tub, shower, two separate toilets and a bidet, which the changeling glanced at with an odd look on his face. He then explained that room service was available 24/7 and reminded them to call the front desk if they needed anything. Gar tipped the bellhop generously, and the young man thanked the former Titan before leaving.

Raven gazed out the 32nd floor window in the living room. The sun had finally set and she knew he was out there somewhere, waiting for them. This was his city, some people believed that nothing happened without him knowing and their arrival had hardly been secret by nature. Batman certainly knew they were here in Gotham. He probably knew where they were staying and when they arrived. It was then we she suddenly realized just how much she missed being in the super hero business. As she continued to stare out the window she wondered how long they would have to wait for him to show up.

"Rave, we have company."

That answered her question.

Raven turned around and saw him. She had of course seen photos of Batman before, but they didn't do him justice. The Dark Knight towered over Gar. His musculature was rippling and was even more pronounced than Nightwing's physique, to the point where she found it to be grotesque and unnatural looking. He was a dark and imposing figure while his body language was both stiff and menacing.

"Greetings Dr. Roth, and you too Dr. Logan."

"I see you have saved us the trouble of finding you Batman. I presume that you know why we are here." She replied.

Batman stood motionless as he replied.

"Officially you came to examine some Babylonian artifacts at the Gotham Museum. But the real reason is that you came to find Nightwing and Starfire."

"Do you know where they are?" Gar asked.

"They went off on a mission three weeks ago. Nightwing wouldn't tell me what it was."

"What about their daughter?" Raven asked.

"Nightstar was left in my care, with the understanding that they would return within a few days. I'm glad that you came, as I have a favor to ask."

"We're ready to help you find them Batman, just say the word. We brought our costumes with us, just give us a minute to change and we'll be ready to go." Gar replied as he puffed his chest out.

Batman paused before replying.

"With all due respect, you are both retired superheroes. You're in no shape to jump into this."

"And with all due respect, I disagree." Raven replied. "We still have our powers and we are still perfectly fit. Gar is stronger and sharper than when he was a Teen and my powers have increased since then as well."

"Yeah, it's like riding a bike; you never forget how to be a super hero."

Raven noticed that Batman did a great job of shrouding his emotions, but she sensed a hint of impatience leaking from his mind.

"What is this favor you want from us?" She asked.

"I would like you and Dr. Logan to take Nightstar with you back to Jump City."

"Why us? The child doesn't even know us. As far as she is concerned we're complete strangers."

"She will be safer with you in Jump. It will also allow me greater flexibility to enhance my search."

"Do you have any leads yet?"

"None. I combed through their home and found nothing."

"Maybe you should let us take a look. We lived with them for 6 years; we might notice something you overlooked." Gar replied.

"I seriously doubt that, Dr. Logan, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. Go ahead and change into your costumes, I know you can't morph without destroying your regular clothes Dr. Logan."

The two ex-Titans nodded their agreement and walked into the bedroom, leaving Batman in the living room.

"Is there anything he doesn't know?" Gar whispered to her.

"Yes, he doesn't know what happened to them. Their disappearance has got to be tied to Victor's absence." Raven replied as she rummaged through her suit case, from where she extracted her Titan's costume, which she held up in the air. "When we were Titans I didn't even think of this as a costume, it was just my clothes, I even used to sleep in my leotard."

Raven stepped into the spacious bathroom to change. When she emerged a minute later Gar was almost done changing himself, and was reaching for his shirt. He had his back to her and she saw that he had several scars on his back, mementos from their years as Titans. She also noticed that his lean muscles rippled as he stretched and pulled the black and purple Doom Patrol shirt over his head. For a brief moment she thought she could hear Lust laughing in the back of her mind. She bit her lip as she looked away from him.

_Get a grip on yourself; you're thinking like a horny schoolgirl._ She mentally chided herself.

"Rave, are we gonna take Nightstar home with us?" He asked as he turned around.

"I don't want to do that, if that's what you're asking. I know you're good with kids, but in case you've forgotten you have a full time job waiting for you back home."

"I understand, I just don't like the idea of a kid being babysat by Batman. She's what, six years old now?"

"I'm sure he has someone else actually doing the babysitting, probably an ordinary person (little does Raven know that there is nothing ordinary about Alfred Pennyworth). But I think he has a point, between the two us of we should be able to keep Nightstar safe."

Gar scratched his chin.

"We should contact the honorary Titans; they can help us watch her while do our own investigating."

Raven mulled over his idea for a moment before agreeing.

"I guess he's waiting for us." Gar announced. "Let's do this."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The two Jump City heroes sat quietly in the Batmobile, which darted around the nearly empty streets in Bludhaven. At first Gar didn't think it was possible for anyplace to be more depressing than Gotham, but Bludhaven was even worse. He still couldn't believe that Nightwing disbanded the Titans to bring his then pregnant wife to live in this lugubrious crime ridden city. Was he on crack? What was wrong with him? They were perfectly happy living together in the Tower. He recalled that Nightwing gave a long winded speech about how they had become stagnant in their personal growth and that a few years apart would do them all some good, after which the team could be resurrected. After a mere year it became obvious to him that the separation was going to be permanent. He finished his undergrad degree in biology in just 3 years. At the time Bumblebee invited him to join Titans East, but he turned down her offer and instead decided to work on his PhD and DVM.

His train of thought was interrupted when the Batmobile pulled into an alley and stopped.

"Raven, would you mind forming one of your flying black disks? I don't want to drive any closer than this." Batman asked her in his monotone. "Nightwing and Starfire live on the top floor of a partially abandoned apartment building. I'll show you the way."

The view of Bludhaven from Raven's flying "taxi" provided an even grimmer view of the city. She could actually see crimes being committed on the streets below. Just like Gar, her mind boggled at Nightwing's and Starfire's choice of community. There were also fires visible, as a few cars were burning on the streets, set ablaze by vandals. The sound of sirens, both police and fire engines, echoed throughout the city, their collective whine sounding like an acknowledgement of their futility in making a difference in a city that was the poster child for the condition of human despair.

She wondered how the princess was able to cope with living in this soul crushing community and was beginning to ponder if perhaps Nightwing had lost his mind. Towards the end of their tenure as Jump City's guardians he still kept his true identity a secret from them and only revealed it to Starfire on their wedding night. Six months later, with no warning, he disbanded the team.

Raven recalled that day well. While she didn't exteriorize it she was in a full blown panic. The Titans were the only friends she ever had and she came within a cat's whisker of following Gar to CSU. Cyborg eventually talked her out of it, saying that "the green bean needs to grow, and he won't do that if any of us are around."

So she stayed in Jump City and completed her undergrad and graduate degrees in record time. She also opened Azarathia when she received her Bachelor's degree. Between work and school the years slipped by and eventually she found herself with nothing to do but run the store. Even though she had been an outstanding scholar she learned that there were no openings for professors of ancient history, even if Indiana Jones made it look easy in the movies.

It suddenly dawned on Raven that she was expecting, or more correctly, she was hoping that Gar would stay with her for the rest of their lives. This realization troubled her, as it was plainly obvious that he wanted a mate, a spouse to share his life with.

Could she be that person for him? And furthermore, could he be that person for her? Her trip to Nevermore more than confirmed that she would take him in a heartbeat. Cyborg had been right all along. Gar had grown and become a wonderful man, one she would be willing to share herself with, in both body and soul.

But did he feel that way? Could he ever see her as more than a friend?

Raven guided the disk towards the roof of a tall, dilapidated building. The lower levels were occupied by squatters. Batman told them that Nightwing and Starfire had removed a few levels of stairs and plugged up the non functional elevator shafts. The building was 20 stories tall and without elevators the squatters remained on the lower 5 floors and no one ever came to visit the Graysons.

Raven shook her head, still unable to believe that Starfire would agree to live in such a place. Raven was no stranger to squatting, as that was how she lived when she first met the others, but this arrangement would have been unacceptable to her even in her darkest moments. The Tamaranian visited her twice in Jump City, both times when Nightstar was a toddler. She never said anything about their living arrangements. Raven could only conclude that the Tamaranian was truly in love with her mate to follow him into this hell hole.

The disk vanished as they landed on the building's rooftop. There was nothing there that even hinted that it was the residence of two superheroes.

"Follow me." Batman curtly commanded them. "And don't touch anything until we are inside, there are booby traps everywhere."

**-( scene break )-**

What will they find in the apartment? And now it's mailbag time!

**Radmila Raznatov** - "CLIFFIE! NO! NOW I WON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED UNTIL YOU UPDATE! I never read the first one, but I might if it's still up. Awesome story! And I like where it's going."

The original story was deleted.

**Glacier** - "I don't recall if I read this the first time around, but considering this seems familiar, I might've. You've got a good point, what I recall as the second half was a bit below your normal quality. Still a good story, though."

_You remember correctly._

**lunastorm13** - "It's really good, I thought the scene were they went back home was quite touching. I can't wait to read more."

_The trip back to the Tower was one of my favorite passages when I wrote this story._

**JOHNXgambit** - "I am now convinced u and lamont crawford (shades of green and gray) are the top BBXRAE writers out there which is why I feel u could save The Dark Titans written by AnimeMaster24 its a TTXJLU crossover a subject u excel at (birds of a feather) its a great read and I'd hate to see it fade out without an ending"

_Thanks, I appreciate your kind words and I'm sure Lamont does as well. But I disagree. There are better BBRae writers out there than yours truly. Sir Alwick and BeautifulPurpleFlame are but two that come to mind._

**bluedog197** - "awesome story funny part with ravens emotions this is a great story cant wait to see more"

_Thanks, since the first 20 chapters are already written I will update quickly at first. After that it will slow down_

**DeeThom** - "I feel like as these chapters post, I'll gradually begin to remember the story. I really am excited to read this again. The updates can't come fast enough! I don't, however, remember Cyborg being engaged in the older story. There must be massive changes in the future."

_He was engaged in the original story._

**The-Alpha-She-Wolf** - "I didn't read the original, but from the reviews that I've read, it was an amazing story. This is an awesome start, and I hope I get to experience the awe that others felt when they read this the first time around! To tell you the truth, I'm jittering with impatience as I wait for the next chapter. I'd wish you good luck, but from the looks of this story so far, you really don't need it."

_Thanks, but I did ruin the original story will a horrible and boring second half, which is why I yanked it. So I will gladly accept your good luck wishes._

**Anoymous136** - "I loved the first one but then again I love everything you write. It will be intetesting to see how this turns out."

_Thanks, I hope I won't disappoint this time._

**RavenOfObsidian** - "Promising start. But since you mentioned it, are you thinking of re writing carved in stone too? I've been reading it and I find it exceptional."

_To be honest, I'm dissatisfied with Carved. I tried venturing out of my comfort zone with it and have had mixed results. Yes, it has been very popular and has already received over 900 reviews, but it is not even close to being my best work, it could have been much better. Will I rewrite it? Probably not, though I might delete it after I finish it._

**krostovikraven1** - "Yes! exactly like Indiana Jones. Dr Logan sounds really sexy. anyway. the visit to their old home must have been overwhelming. But why would they be in any danger and where are Star and Nightwing . and that mystery girl Victor is engaged to? has to be really good to manipulate him into not even contacting his friends. and him just going with it. really great so far. update soon."

_You'll soon find out why Vic has been silent._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Well Dick and Starfire would probably with The Outsiders on the side on this fan fic,I mean after the Titans disbanded, it's easy to say in that time span, Dick got approached by Roy to form the Outsiders."

_While I'd love to, I won't use the Outsiders for the same reason I won't bring in the second generation of Teen Titans (like I did in the original version of this story). Few readers are familiar with them and it ends up confusing having so many characters._

**BritishWaffleSyrup** - "Awesome! :D Hope you continue, I never read the first story cause' I didn't know about the Teen Titans TV show! So, in turn, didn't know about the FF section. Don't worry- I already kicked myself! But anyway, this is a unique story. I love it! :D"

_I will continue, the first 20 chapters are already written and only require some tweaking._

**TheThoughtsofKarasu** - "I really like this, it's moving at a good pace, and I like the clear chemistry between Gar and Raven. Yay for Nightwing and Star being together, what can I say? I'm a Robstar shipper. Do you have an estimate on how long this will be?"

_Well, the first 20 chapters are already written. There will be more. How many? At this point I really don't know._

**Dragonkyng** - "I was so sad you erased this story and I'm so happy you are continuing it. Can't wait to re-read it"

_Thanks!_

**titanfan45** - "I liked this chapter very much. I don't remember Raven making the comment about this is how it feels to be in the friend box the first time around. If it is new, it was a great addition. The scene with Raven and Beast Boy returning to the tower was just as good as I remember it to be."

_Yes, that was an addition to the original chapter._

**Shadico** - "Yea, i'll get to enjoy it like it's my first time reading it, but the entire time i'll have that nagging feeling in the back of my head screaming that i'm forgetting/not remembering something, haha. Not much to say about this chapter since it's setting up the events that will come to pass, but i'm ecstatic at the prospect of Rae already wanting to be with Gar. Hopefully their relationship evolves into much more soon. I'm a sucker for fluff hah."

_Well, this story will be much fluffier than say "Carved in Stone"._


	4. Hello Nightstar!

Before I begin this chapter, I have good news! I'm going to attend my first ComicCon in Denver. Yes, I am a super nerd, and no, I won't cosplay.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Follow me." Batman curtly commanded them. "And don't touch anything until we are inside, there are booby traps everywhere."

Batman led them down from the roof through a concrete lined stairwell. Changeling was wide eyed and not only carefully avoided touching anything, he even made sure that the retraced Batman's path on every step in the stairway. Raven glided down behind him, levitating and touching nothing at all.

At the bottom of the stairwell there was a heavy metal door. There appeared to be no means to unlock it: no keyhole, no numeric pad or a card key reader. The Dark Knight retrieved what appeared to be high tech garage door opener and pressed the large red button on it. The door at first creaked and moaned and finally slowly swung open.

"Follow me, and don't touch anything yet, we still aren't inside."

They were now inside a concrete tunnel that slowly descended. It was dimly lit by a few fluorescent tubes, most of which were either burned out or were in their death throes as they buzzed and flickered in agony. There were handrails on the walls and a few light switches, from which Gar kept clear and did not touch. The tunnel reached a dead end. Batman gestured to them to stand next to him. Once they did he pressed a green button on the clicker and the floor beneath began to slowly sink into the ground. When the descent was complete they were inside the apartment.

The interior of Nightwing and Starfire's home stood in stark contrast to the building's exterior. While utilitarian in its décor it was immaculately clean and everything looked new.

"Where is his office?" Raven asked.

"This way." Batman replied.

A door slid open, revealing Nightwing's study. Much like the office he once had at the Tower it was spacious and there were papers taped to the wall. Raven studied them while Gar examined the desk, which as in the past was covered with papers and miscellaneous electronic parts and other detritus. After examining the dustbin he morphed into a mouse and began to explore the less accessible areas of the office, including the desk's interior.

"There doesn't seem to be any pattern to these newspaper clippings.' Raven remarked. "That is not his normal mode of operation."

"You think that there might be pattern in the chaos? I already ran it through a computer. Nothing was found." Batman replied.

"Same thing with his desk. It's just random junk." Gar added. "Rae's right though, he was messy but there was always a pattern. It's almost like he's was trying to hide something, like when he became Red X."

"Except that this time Starfire was in on the plan." Raven added. "Let's go check the rest of the house."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The mood in the Batmobile was gloomy as the extended team had struck out and found no new leads in the penthouse. Nobody said anything, even though they passed by several crimes in progress. Bludhaven wasn't Batman's turf and he ignored what he saw, even though he knew that Nightwing and Starfire wouldn't be showing up to round up the Bludhaven thugs. At that moment he had bigger fish to fry. He remained silent until they were once again within Gotham city limits.

"Have you decided if you will take Nightstar with you?" He finally broke the silence.

"We have." Raven replied. "We will take her home with us."

"Thank you." He replied in his monotone. "Before I return you to your hotel, I have something I wish to share with you."

The Batmobile veered off the road down into a drainage channel. Raven and Gar raised their eyebrows, wondering what Batman was up to. They then saw a concrete wall in the channel flip open like a garage door and the car darted inside. The tunnel was long and there were other secret doors that opened. After a few minutes the car entered a large cavern and Batman stopped it on large rotating platform.

Gar looked around wide eyed, knowing well where Batman had brought them. He turned to Raven and before he could say anything she nodded. As they climbed out from the famous black car a man dressed in a suit approached Batman.

"Miss Nightstar is in bed and sound asleep Master Bruce. She asked me again when her parents would be returning."

Alfred turned to the Batmobile and saw the two Titans standing next to it.

"I see that we he decided to bring Drs. Roth and Logan into our confidence."

Batman removed his cowl. Raven and Changeling both gasped, as they immediately recognized him.

"They have agreed to take Nightstar into their custody."

He turned to the two Titans.

"I suppose that you know who I am? And this is Alfred Pennyworth, my confidant."

Gar still looked stunned while Raven had regained her composure.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Wayne. I presume that our missing teammate and former leader is your one time ward, Richard Grayson." (A/N I always wondered just how much Raven learned about Robin when she entered his mind in the episode 'Haunted')

"That is correct. Since you will be doing this favor for the Graysons as well as for me, I have decided to bring you into the Bat Clan. I'm sorry that Dick was never able to reveal his secret identity to you, but it was an unfortunate necessity."

"Dude, that's awesome." Gar said breathlessly. His regressive outburst did not go unnoticed by Raven, who was actually glad to hear him use that word, even if he was now a Professor at UC Jump City.

"After you have finished your business at the Museum tomorrow Alfred will come to collect you. We will introduce you to Nightstar. Once she is ready Alfred will take you to the airport, where a Wayne Corp jet will be waiting to take you back to Jump City. I suggest you return to your hotel and get a good night's rest."

"I will be more than happy to take the Drs. Back to their hotel." Alfred announced.

"Thank you Alfred. We can get back there on our own." Raven replied.

"Of course, you and Dr. Logan are both capable of flight. That will come in handy with Miss Nightstar. She does enjoy flying ... immensely I might add."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven was already changed into her nightgown and was sitting on her bed, one of two king sized beds in the bedroom. She was fidgeting with her old Titan's communicator when he emerged from the bathroom, only wearing his pajama bottoms. She stopped toying with the communicator and caught herself staring at his lean and well formed torso. She turned her focus immediately back to her communicator.

_Oh Azar, he looks so damned good. Stop it! He's just a friend._ She chided herself.

He sat down on the edge of his bed. Raven did her best to not look at him.

"You OK Rae?" He asked.

"I see you've been working out while in school." She replied as she continued to press buttons on the communicator. "I have to commend you for your diligence."

"It was a good way to manage the stress. I'm glad I did it. Any luck finding anyone on the Titans network?"

"I haven't tried everyone yet. So far the only ones I've found are Jinx, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Red Star. Aqualad says that he also lost contact with the former Titans East about 3 weeks ago."

"You're kidding? What the hell is going on Rae? This can't be a coincidence. Someone is picking off Titans."

"I agree. What should we do?"

"The secret base, it should still be out there, we never handed it over. Send an all Titans message warning everyone of what's happening and tell them to get over there ASAP."

Raven nodded her agreement.

"We'll need to tell Bruce about our change in plans. We can't go back to Jump City."

"It's too dangerous." He agreed. "I wonder how far Nightstar can fly. The closest Bruce's jet can get us to the secret base is over 500 kilometers, we'll have to fly the rest of the way."

"We'll manage, she is half Tamaranian, but we can carry her if necessary. But what do we do tonight Gar? There's no way the hotel is secure."

"I know, but we don't want to tip our hand, as soon as they learn that we've figured out that we're targets, they'll make their move. We have to act normal, and that includes going to the museum tomorrow. When we face them, we want to do it on our own terms."

"But what if they decide to make their move tonight?"

"We can take turns keeping watch, so we won't be caught off guard. You go ahead and sleep first, Rave."

"OK, but wake me in 3 hours, you need your sleep more than I do."

"Deal."

The two friends stood up and embraced each other.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Rave."

"We won't fail. As Starfire used to say: We will be victorious."

They hugged each other one more time and shared a chaste kiss.

"For good luck." He said.

"For good luck." She replied.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The black Rolls Royce pulled up to the Gotham Museum right on schedule, at 11:30 AM. The uniformed driver exited the vehicle and opened the passenger door for a young couple that suddenly emerged from the museum, walking down the granite stairs. The female was wearing a long flowing black dress with a hooded blue cape, and was wearing her hood up, concealing her face and was carrying a briefcase. Her companion was wearing a sharp Italian suit and only his green complexion gave away his identity.

The driver tipped his hat as they boarded the limo and after a moment they were off.

"I trust your appointment at the Museum went well Dr. Roth." Alfred broke the silence.

"It did Alfred. It's a good thing I came. More than half of the artifacts are forgeries."

"Have people no shame?" Alfred complained. "Trying to sell counterfeit relics to a museum? Will that affect your business Dr. Roth?"

"I'm afraid so, I was going to buy some of them myself. Ranesh is going to be disappointed again. I did collect a sizeable fee from the museum, plus they agreed to cover my expenses for this trip."

"That was the least they could do, Rvae saved them over 10 million bucks."

"I am certain that you have their gratitude. By the way, Master Bruce is on the museum's board of directors."

"So that's how he knew we were coming." Gar interjected.

"Master Bruce has many methods for keeping his finger on the city's pulse. Serving on many boards is but one of them."

"Not surprising." Raven added. "Is Nightstar ready to meet us?"

Alfred smiled.

"The royal princess is indeed looking forward to meeting you. Apparently her parents have shown her video images and photographs of both you and Dr. Logan and she knows who you are. She seems to be quite excited at the prospect of meeting you. I have also arranged for one of our corporate jets to take you to the drop off point. I purchased a speedboat which will be waiting for you there. The weather forecast is favorable and the final leg of your trip to your destination should be uneventful."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Alfred led the two Titans into the library in Wayne Manor and announced he would be returning with refreshments. Bruce was standing in the middle of the room and they soon noticed that a little girl was hiding behind him. She poked her head out and quickly darted behind Bruce again.

"Hello Nightstar." Raven said softly. "You've become a big girl since the last time I saw you."

The princess took another peek and after thinking about it for a moment she emerged from behind Bruce.

"Auntie Raven?" She asked cautiously.

The gray sorceress dropped down on to her knees so that she was at eye level with the six year old child. She had dark hair and deep blue eyes which she inherited from her father. Her complexion was 100% Tamaranian and her features were a mix of both her parents. She then saw Gar, who had already changed into his signature Doom Patrol costume.

"Uncle Beast Boy."

The changeling smiled and nodded, after which the child ran forward and wrapped her arms around Raven. She reciprocated and kissed the girl on her cheek.

"Grandpa Bruce says I'm going to go live with you."

"Yes sweetie, you will, until your mommy and daddy come home."

"Where are they Auntie Raven?" The child began to sob. "I want them to come home now. I miss my mommy."

"They didn't tell us, but I'm sure that whatever they're doing it's very important."

Gar piped up.

"We're gonna go on a vacation Nightstar. There's gonna be a beach and we'll have a lot of fun there. But it's really far away, so were gonna fly in an airplane."

"Can't we fly there ourselves? I can fly, you know."

"It's very far away sweetie, we would get very tired if we had to fly there ourselves, and it would take a very long time." Raven answered.

The child turned to Gar.

"Uncle Beast Boy, can you really turn into a puppy?"

Gar grinned at the request.

"For you kiddo, I'll turn into anything you want."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The Gulfstream jet shot across the tropical sky, leaving a white trail of condensed water in its wake. They were almost two thirds of the way to their destination and the Disney movie Nightstar was watching had just concluded. The child yawned and looked around the cabin. She found Raven and Gar seated on a small couch, chatting quietly until they noticed the movie was done.

"Are you sleepy sweetie?" Raven asked her.

Nightstar nodded with a hint of grogginess. Raven picked her up and deposited the child onto a bed the lone flight attendant had set up earlier.

"Go ahead and take a nap." Raven told her in a soothing voice.

Raven watched as the girl's eyelids became heavy and she was soon asleep. The flight attendant approached them.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked.

"Thank you Miss Ashmore, I think right now all we need is for some quiet time so the child can sleep." Raven replied.

"Very well, I'll be in the galley in the back. If you need anything just let me know." She smiled before she drew shut the drapes that separated the galley from the cabin.

"So, are you gonna do it Rae?"

The gray Titan nodded.

"I am. I'll go into her mind and search for clues. Nightwing or Starfire had to have said something in her presence that should give us an idea of where they went. She might not understand what she heard, but she'll probably remember it."

"She'll be OK, right?"

"From her perspective, it'll seem like a dream."

"Ok then, well, good luck." He added.

She paused.

"Gar, before I start, I want to ask you something."

He gave her an inquisitive look.

"Yes?"

Raven hesitated before continuing.

"It's not important, I'll ask you later."

_Where's Brave when I need her?_

Raven sat down on one of the oversized seats and adopted the lotus position. Gar looked on as she began to slowly repeat her timeless mantra. He watched mesmerized as her soul self emerged from her body. It turned towards him and nodded before redirecting itself towards Nightstar.

The next thing Raven saw was that she was in the girl's bedroom in Bludhaven. She sensed an aura of happiness in her surroundings and found Nightstar seated around a small table, preparing to have a tea party with her dolls.

"Auntie Raven! You're just in time for our tea party!" The child rejoiced.

A plush bunny turned to Raven and spoke.

"Mar'i makes the yummiest tea, please try some." The rabbit announced as it handed a saucer and cup to the sorceress.

"I suppose … I could try some." Raven replied as she took the plastic teacup and saucer from the eager rabbit. To her surprise it contained a dark fluid.

Raven raised it to her lips and took a sip. It tasted like Pepsi.

"It is very yummy Nightstar … sweetie … where are your mommy and daddy?"

"They're in daddy's office. Come with me. I'll show you where."

Raven followed the girl out of her room and she indeed did lead her into Nightwing's office. He and Starfire were there and mumbled unintelligibly to each other. Raven knew that Nightstar was too young to understand what her parents were talking about but apparently she was also unable to remember the words. She puzzled at how to approach the situation when Nightstar surprised her.

"Mommy, show Auntie Raven the picture of the funny monkey."

"Not now my dear, please go back and play with your dolls."

"Pleeeeaaaase?" She nagged the surreal Starfire.

"It is not something for children to see, you should not peek at your father's desk."

Raven decided to take the initiative.

"It's OK Starfire; I'm a big girl now."

The dream world Tamaranian looked at Raven, then nodded.

"Yes, you are a big girl. You may look at the funny monkey."

Starfire handed Raven a photograph, and the grey sorceress allowed a gasp to escape her lips.

"Mallah!" She shouted.

"Raven! Raven!" She heard a distant voice calling out to her and felt someone invisible shaking her body. She quickly recalled her soul self back into her body and opened her eyes.

The private jet was nose diving.

"We've been hit!" Gar shouted at her.

"What?!"

"A fighter jet came out of nowhere and started shooting at us! We're going down."

Lisa Ashmore was wearing a parachute, and had three more in her hands.

"We can bail out in the back of the plane!" The stewardess shouted above the din. "Here are your parachutes!"

"We don't need them! We can fly!" Raven shouted. "Save yourself!"

Lisa vanished into the rear of the plane. Using her dark energy Raven summoned the pilot and copilot out of the cockpit and repeated her command. They refused to bail out while their passengers remained in the cabin. Raven flung her cape around and it grew, engulfing everyone. Moments after the giant, black spectral bird emerged from the jet a missile hit it, destroying it completely.

_**-( scene break )-**_

It's mailbag time!

**LSUABW** - "Nightstar? Really? Lol I guess it's a superhero baby for sure! Haha other than that, great chapter! Can't wait to read more!"

_Nightstar is a real character from the comics. She has her mother's powers._

**JOHNXgambit** - "question who trademarked chromatically challenged couple?"

_No one did. It's a gag I made up._

**Shadico** - "Blech, how could ya Dick. I don't see how any parent would want to have their family in that kind of environment voluntarily. Hopefully as events unfold someone slaps some sense into him and he moves them out of Bludhaven. Maybe re-create the titans? hah"

_Grayson is obsessed if anything._

**Bluedog197** - "Dude that was awesome i cant believe nightwing and starfire lived thereand booby traps yep he is still parinoid i think robin lost his but poor raven now she realized that she is lonley without beastboy let hope they stay together by the way this is the first time im reading this story so keep writing and ill keep reviewing"

_I'll keep the chapters coming._

**Chayseman** - "Nice! I was a fan of the original story, and I didn't think the last few chapters were bad, I think you did a great job. Can't wait for more."

_I hope the new ones are better._

**Anoymous136** - "Booby traps... Hehe... How does Batamn say that with a straight face?... Booby traps... Hehe."

_Batman says EVERYTHING with a straight face :-)_

**TheThoughtsofKarasu** - "I'm excited to see which Honorary Titans Gar and Raven will contact. Nice chapter, nothing dramatic happened but it gave a lot of insight on Changeling and Raven's feelings."

_It's going to take a little while before they figure out how they really feel for each other._

**DeeThom** - "It's all coming back to me now, slowly but surely. I just really wish I could remember more of the story. But I'm loving the build-up so far! Great job!"

_I'm glad you like the second time around._

**titanfan45** - "Raven was dead on when she said that Batman would likely come to them. Gotta feel sorry for Nightfire, her parents are missing and it looks as though she will be sent to stay with people she has never met. No doubt Changeling and Raven will quickly make her feel at ease with them."

_She's been in Grayson's head and knows a little about the Dark Knight._

_Purplepox63010_ - "Love this tons! Honestly keep going!"

_Will do! Thanks for reviewing!_

**krostovikraven1** - "i wonder too how Starfire agreed to such arrangements. she's so bubbly and happy and coming to live in a depressing place like that its just ... well... depressing. specially with a little girl. i think is wrong of Batman to just "assign" them the babysitting job. true they are retired but it doesnt mean they've lost their instincts."

_You know what? I also wonder just what the heck she was thinking. As for Bats, he does what he wants._


	5. The Island

The jet's flaming wreckage fell into the ocean, where a series of explosions followed the impact. The scene was observed from the shore on a nearby island. The crew stared as the fiery remains of the Gulfstream jet slowly began to sink into the tropical waters, and soon all that was left were a few flames that danced on the ocean's surface.

In addition to saving the pilot and copilot, Raven snatched the flight attendant from her parachute and brought everyone down to small cove on the island, where they hid in the foliage that bordered the beach. Her spectral black raven went undetected by the fighter pilot and upon landing on the sandy beach she resumed her human form, her eyes glowing white and spread her arms, lifting her cape after which everyone egressed from the void that formed in front of her,

The fighter jet, which had no markings of any kind and was of unknown manufacture, made several passes over the wreckage and once its pilot was satisfied that there were no survivors in the ocean the jet banked to its right and after firing up its afterburners it rocketed away, leaving a sonic boom in its wake.

The crew appeared to be stunned and shell shocked, still unable to process what had just transpired.

"What the hell was that?" The copilot finally spoke up. "Who was that, and why did they shoot us down?"

Lisa Ashmore raised a satchel so all could see it.

"I grabbed the survival bag before I jumped. There should be a rescue beacon in there; I can turn it on and…"

"You'll do no such thing." Raven ordered her. "It would give away that we survived the attack as well as our position to the Brotherhood of Evil. There's no telling what they would hit us with. I wouldn't put it past them to nuke the entire island."

Gar was studying the display on his old Titans communicator.

"The GPS says we crashed onto Isla Poblada. It's 30 kilometers wide and 60 long … hmmm … it says here that there should be a small town on the other side of the island, it's called San Ramon. We can either cross through the jungle or go around the island to get there. Either way it's gonna be a tough hike."

"I thought you were superheroes. Can't you fly us there?" The flight attendant asked.

"It's too risky. I expect the enemy will be sending someone to inspect the wreckage more closely, if they see us flying they could send a squadron after us. If it was just the two of us it wouldn't be a problem, but we would be hard pressed to protect you if we have to fight them off. You'd be sitting ducks." Raven replied.

"We aren't dressed for this. Do you really expect us to go hiking in that jungle?" The pilot, who was dressed in a navy blue suit and loafers, complained as he gazed into the jungle. A small mountain, a dormant volcano actually, stood in the middle of the island.

"I'm sorry. What we could also do is separate. Gar and I can cut across the jungle more quickly while remaining out of sight. The rest of you could stay here and hide. Once we get to the village we can send someone to pick you up."

"I think that's a good idea, Miss Raven." The middle aged pilot agreed. "We would only slow you down."

Gar sniffed the air.

"I'll be right back." He announced before darting into the jungle. He reemerged a minute later, carrying some mangos.

"These ones are ripe. There's also a spring a 100 yards that way, just follow that trickle of water, it should be safe to drink right at the spring head."

"Thank you Titans, we should be OK until help arrives."

"We'll be as quick as possible, but be patient while you wait. And remain hidden." Raven replied as she picked up Nightstar. Then she and Gar ran into the jungle and disappeared.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"What do you mean the jet disappeared?!"

The head pilot of Wayne Corps private jet fleet tensed up as his imposing boss thundered at him.

"I'm sorry Mr. Wayne; according to the San Benito airport they lost radar contact with the jet at 1:37 PM local time when it was near Isla Poblada, which was about 2 hours ago. I'm afraid that we have to assume the worst. The San Benito authorities sent out a Coast Guard cruiser but it won't reach the crash site for several hours, Isla Poblada is somewhat remote. I'm sorry Mr. Wayne, I really am. I can't explain what happened … it's a brand new jet and we inspected every system on it before releasing it for the flight … it was 100% airworthy …"

"It's OK McKenna, just stay on top of things and let me know when there is any news."

"Yes sir, I'll be taking Wayne #2 out myself and will fly straight to Isla Poblada to personally supervise the rescue operation. There were no landings or sightings on the island, but the aircraft's route was on the uninhabited side. Once I land in San Ramon I'll organize search parties. We'll find them sir."

"Thank you captain, do your best."

Bruce Wayne hung up the speaker phone in the Batcave. Alfred was standing next to him, with a very determined expression on his face.

"Do you suspect foul play sir?"

"What else could it be? If McKenna said it was airworthy then it was."

"Do you believe they are alright?"

"I don't know. If it was shot down Raven and Changeling could have evacuated everyone before it crashed, in which case they are probably somewhere on Isla Poblada, doing their best to avoid whoever attacked them. But if it was hit by a missile … then all bets are off … I don't know … it's possible that they could have survived a missile hit, but it would be a long shot."

Alfred nodded his understanding.

"The Batwing is being prepared sir." He replied as he typed on the computer and read the output on the screen. "At Mach 3.8 you should be able to get there in 1.5 hours."

"Where's Kal-El when I need him?" Bruce grumbled as he pulled his cowl over his head.

"Is he off world again sir?"

"Yes, along with the Green Lantern, Diana, The Flash and anyone else who could get there quickly."

Batman paused for a moment.

"I have an idea."

He opened a drawer in a file cabinet and briefly rummaged through it. When he turned around Alfred saw that he had an old Titans communicator in his hand. The Dark Knight fidgeted with it until a yellow masked face appeared on the display.

"Mr. West I presume?"

"Batman?" The young speedster stammered. "Where are Raven and Beast Boy?" Their jet never arrived …"

"That's right Mr. West, I need you to do me a favor."

"A favor? Sure!"

"I need you to go to Isla Poblada. How soon can you get there … discretely."

"Discretely?"

"I have reason to believe that Raven, Changeling and Nightstar are hiding there."

"You mean they got them too?"

"I don't know, which is why I need you to be my eyes and ears there. You need to be undercover as much as possible, since you too are a target of whomever is after all former Titans, that means you can't use your communicator on the island, it would give your presence away."

"I understand sir. I found it on the map; it's about 2000 miles from here. I'd have to travel slower than my top speed to not get noticed, it'll take about 20 minutes at that speed."

"Good enough. Wait for me to arrive before using the communicator; I should be there in 90 minutes."

"I'm on my way. Kid Flash out."

Batman flipped the communicator shut and without saying another word he climbed into the Batwing's cockpit.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"My apologies gentlemen, believe me, it was nothing personal. But I couldn't let you warn them now, could I?"

The pilot and copilot were lying dead on the beach, their now unseeing eyes staring into infinity. Lisa Ashmore gave them one last look before darting off into the jungle.

_**-( scene break)-**_

The jungle was suffocating. It was a hot, humid, bug infested inferno. Howler monkeys screeched from the tree tops that formed an emerald canopy overhead. Giant cockroaches hissed their displeasure at being interrupted from whatever a 4 inch long bug did to keep itself entertained. There were also birds with bright plumage, which sang out in high pitched and exotic voices. And the terrain was naturally an obstacle course.

None of this bothered the green Indian elephant who almost appeared to be enjoying itself as it made its way through the vegetation. There actually was a path that it following, which was had been cleared by machetes in the past. The jungle of course was reclaiming the path as its rightful owner, but the elephant was more than happy to use the path as it was.

Raven and Nightstar sat in top of the green pachyderm, surrounded by one of Raven's dark bubbles which kept the native flora and fauna away from them. The gray sorceress heard a thundering roar and looked up, frowning when she recognized the model of fighter jet that shot down their Gulfstream without any warning. Gar's green dermis was the perfect camouflage as it allowed him to blend into the foliage like a chameleon, and they remained undetected for the time being.

They had been on the go for two hours and according to the GPS in Raven's communicator they had covered just 15 miles during that time in spite of Gar's best efforts to rush through the jungle. Raven was beginning to worry that the Brotherhood of Evil would be waiting for them in the small town of San Ramon and was brainstorming on what to do if that was the case. Their first duty was to protect Nightstar from harm and she would be damned if they would allow the Brotherhood of Evil to capture the Royal Princess.

Raven noticed that Gar switched to a rather steep path and understood that he was trying to get them to higher ground, hopefully to a spot from where they could inspect the village of San Ramon and determine if it was actually safe to enter the town.

After about 15 minutes of marching uphill they reached a clearing, from where they could see the bay and town of San Ramon. Raven reached for her jeweled belt and produced a pair of collapsible binoculars from it. She popped them open and began to scan the town, looking for signs of the Brotherhood. She didn't find any trace of them in the town but also noticed that there were no townsfolk out and about, not a single one.

"Dammit." She cursed under her breath and hopped off Gar's back while still holding Nightstar in her arms.

Gar reverted back to his human form. Raven looked at him and could tell he was tired.

"So they're already there, huh?"

"I think so. I haven't seen them, but the village is quiet, way too quiet. I'll bet the place is crawling with General Immortus' robots."

"So what do we do? Wait in the jungle until help arrives? We don't have any supplies, Raven."

She sighed wearily.

"Maybe we should just head back and rejoin the others. There's no hurry Gar, why don't you rest for a bit before we go back? You've been doing all the work." She replied as she continued scanning the town with her binoculars.

Gar nodded as he took a deep breath. This was discouraging to say the least. He had spent 2 hours trudging through the jungle and would now have to hike back for at least two more hours while carrying Raven and Nightstar on his back. He didn't really mind carrying them, he actually enjoyed it, rather it was the hike that he was dreading.

He turned around to look back at path he had previously climbed and gasped. Standing at the entrance to the clearing was none other than Lisa Ashmore, the flight attendant.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The Batwing was just 10 minutes into its flight when the Batwave began to buzz. The Dark Knight frowned as he doubted it was good news. He pressed on the hands free button.

"What is it Alfred?"

"I'm afraid it's more bad news sir. A Wayne Corp employee was found murdered in her apartment."

Batman growled his displeasure.

"Something tells me that this is related to our missing Gulfstream."

"It is sir; the woman's name is Lisa Ashmore."

"Ashmore? Wait … she's one of our flight attendants."

"That is correct sir. I also learned from the crew scheduler that she was assigned to the crew of our missing jet."

"I see, so who took her place?"

Alfred sighed.

"No one sir. According to witnesses she showed up for work this morning and was on board the jet when it left. The coroner says that Miss Ashmore was murdered last night, in a most gruesome manner."

Bruce glanced at the chronograph on Batwing's control panel. He was still 75 minutes away from Isla Poblada.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven heard Gar gasp and also turned around.

"Miss Ashmore? Is something wrong? Why didn't you stay at the rendezvous point?"

The flight attendant grinned.

"There is nothing wrong demoness, at least not for me." She replied in a French accent.

She raised her arms in Raven's direction and they shot out like rubber bands. Raven flew straight up into the air, still carrying Nightstar in her arms as she dodged the attack.

"Madam Rouge!" Gar snarled at her.

"Congratulations on your doctorate, Changeling, the Brain is very impressed." She laughed derisively at him. "I know that you are searching for your friends. I would be more than happy to take you to them."

"What have you done with them?" Raven howled. "If you've hurt them, there'll be hell to pay!"

"Relax darling, we haven't done anything to any of the Titans we've captured … at least not yet."

"You guys don't learn, do you? You tried capturing us before and it back fired on you."

"Do not worry changeling, we most definitely learn from our mistakes."

"What do you want?" He challenged her.

The foliage around them began to shake and hundreds of robots emerged from the jungle, pointing their laser rifles at them, while Mallah himself came up the path and stood next to Madam Rouge, who had now abandoned her disguise as the late Lisa Ashmore.

"What do we want, little green one? We want revenge, revenge against the Titans and your now defunct network of heroes. You did us a great favor when you disbanded your team; it made it much easier to capture all of you. And today is a great day, for we now have captured the 5 original Titans and their offspring." The giant gorilla boomed.

"Aren't you counting your eggs before they hatch Mallah?" Raven snarled at him. "Do you really think it's going to be that easy?"

"Your situation is hopeless. Surrender now and I promise your end will be painless." Rouge sneered back at her.

Gar looked around and assessed the situation. Rouge wasn't exaggerating; their situation was bad, very bad. He turned to Raven and shouted.

"Rae! Run! Get out of here! Protect Nightstar! I'll hold them back!"

Raven froze. She knew he was right, they had promised to protect the girl. But she couldn't just leave him behind. She couldn't abandon him to a certain death. Her heart began to beat faster and faster, in response to the panic that was engulfing her.

She couldn't leave him. He was hers, even if he didn't know it.

"No Gar! I'm staying! I'm not leaving you here to face them alone."

"Dammit Rae! Just go before it's too late!"

"No!" She screamed. "I can't!"

"Why?" He shouted back.

Raven felt her heart in her throat and felt as if her very soul was being ripped in half. She couldn't leave, not even to protect Nightstar.

"Because … I … I love you."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Another cliffhanger! Don't say you don't love them, because you know that you do!

The mailbag was lighter today.

**Apollo** - "Can't wait for the next chapter!"

_Thanks!_

**JOHNXgambit** - "one of great things about raven is her interaction with her emotions it gives writer's infinite options and never gets old. BTW anybody eise ticked that bb and starfire didn't make it on the injustice video game"

_In the "New 52" comics Starfire has been turned into a slut who sleeps with both Jason Todd (The Red Hood) and Roy Harper (Speedy/Arsenal). BB is now RED and is back with Terra._

**Anoymous136** - "I remember the first version pretty well so I can theorize the 1st part. But it's still good. You haven't lost your touch."

_Thanks! Sometimes I doubt myself._

**DeeThom** - "I definitely remember the fighter jets. I just honestly wish I could fast forward the story because I'm absolutely loving it right now."

_Funny how some things stick in one's mind._

**LSUABW** - "Ah! The suspense! I noticed that Nightstar was never mentioned in the [spoiler] scene at the end! You're too good!"

_Nah, I just forgot to mention her._

**TheThoughtsofKarasu** - "Oooohhh the Brotherhood of Evil is the major antagonist group? Awesome! I love stories with them, because usually it unites a lot of the Titans. From the stories I've read from you, you seem to like to have Slade as the main villain, but it's nice to see a change here."

_I use the Brotherhood on occasion. I've never used Brother Blood, as I dislike him in both Cartoon and Comic Book incarnations. I think he's boring._

**krostovikraven1** - "Nightstar seems like a young Starfire. a half tamarenean with blue eyes. Are her eyes like Starfire's Green on green or blue on blue in her case? And how does that work, Raven being able to interact with Nighstar's memories. that would be then like manipulating her answers somehow."

_In this story I gave her Grayson's blue eyes, but in the comics she has Starfire's green eyes (in the comics Blackfire has green eyes too)_

**titanfan45** - "I can see Garfield in awe in the Batcave. He might be a doctor, but he is still a young Beast Boy at heart."

_BB the fanboy!_

**Bluedog197** - "WHOA awesome who knew raven could do that with her cape. wow so the brotherhood of evil is after them who knew. any way love this story and your work keep it up.

_Thanks! _

**Maddielove95** - "Can't wait for the next chapter.. I wonder how epic the battle's gonna be! Lol. I'm getting too far ahead.. I *think* I read the original story.. But I can't remember so its all good! How do you feel about the new piece of doodoo they call a show?"

_As I mentioned to you before, I think the new show is an intentional parody of the original show. In the new show Raven finally appeared without her hood ... and her hair is black just like in the comics. She does still have the A-line haircut she wore in the first show. What is interesting is that some early promo artwork shows her with violet hair (and her face also looks different than what appeared in the episode)_


	6. The Boyfriend

"Because … I … I love you." Raven stammered.

Gar had already adopted a fighting stance, his arms raised, his fists balled in a back stance as Robin had taught him years before when he heard those words, and almost stumbled over himself in the process. He turned towards Raven, slack jawed and stunned after hearing her confession. Time slowed to a crawl as they locked eyes with each other. Raven watched as Gar's eyes were unable to conceal the surprise he felt. He opened his mouth as if to reply.

The changeling was knocked over by an unseen force which wrapped itself around him like a giant squid with a speed and fury that left him stunned. He was trapped and felt himself being squeezed to the point where he could no longer be able to breathe. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rouge's laughing face.

"I am so disappointed Dr. Logan, you were far to easy to catch."

Gar morphed into a snake and was able to slip out of Rouge's grip. As soon as he was free he morphed into a hummingbird. She reshaped her hands into nets and swung them repeatedly at him, as if trying to catch a butterfly but he remained a step ahead of her and was able to dart out of the way each time. Mallah joined her in the effort to capture the changeling, but he wasn't any more effective.

Meanwhile, Raven formed a dark bubble around herself while still clutching Nightstar. The robotic soldiers, which were about fifty in number, began to fire their laser rifles at her. Her dark energy held up, but barely. The child was scared and she buried her face in Raven's shoulder, while the sorceress attempted in vain to soothe her.

"Forget the changeling, Mallah, help me capture the demoness!"

Raven suddenly found herself completely surrounded. Mallah reached over his back and produced large laser cannon, which reflected a sinister gleam.

"Your shields will not protect you from my newest weapon, Raven. "

Raven heard the telltale hum of the laser cannon charging and panicked. She lunged to her left, in an attempt to dodge the blast. The beam of coherent light grazed her shield which tried to absorb the energy and failed, and her bubble collapsed like a house of cards. Raven winced and tried to raise it again but felt a searing pain in her abdomen and the dark shield refused to take form.

"Now I have you demoness. But do not worry, your death won't be in vain. When I mount your head on a plaque it will be the centerpiece in my study." Mallah chuckled as the cannon began hum as it recharged.

The robots were still firing at Raven from all anglesand she had to perform some impressive aerial acrobatics to avoid their lethal volleys. She tried to find Gar amidst the chaos but he was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile the droids continued firing while Mallah and Rouge grinned.

Their smug expressions were short lasted, as a thunderous roar echoed in the jungle, shaking the foliage around the clearing and sending flocks of birds fleeing from its menacing but still unseen presence. With no warning a huge green leviathan emerged from the jungle and jumped into the midst of the robots in the clearing. Its powerful arms thrashed at the mechanical soldiers, which it began to rip to shreds with its razor sharp claws as if they were merely made of paper and not a titanium alloy. The robots changed their tactics and focused their weapons on the green intruder, ignoring Raven who was now able to focus completely on the cannon in Mallah's arms.

The giant gorilla aimed the cannon at her and she steeled herself, preparing for the blast. Mallah took aim at her. He then smiled maliciously and switched targets.

"Gar! Look out!" She screamed at him.

The Beast was too busy decimating the robots, of which only a few were left. He neither heard Raven's warning nor noticed when Mallah fired at him. The shot hit him point blank and the Beast roared in pain, staggered and collapsed.

"GAAAR! NOOOOO!"

Raven turned around just as Rouge hit her with a solid punch in the face, which sent her tumbling. She hit the ground and rolled a few times before stopping. Nightstar broke away from her grasp and landed about 20 feet away.

"And now, to finish her off!" Rouge shouted with glee as she reshaped her hands into razor sharp blades. "I have been waiting for this day, witch, waiting for a very long time." She gloated as she approached Raven's supine form. She raised her blades and a murderous grin appeared on her face.

A blast of blue energy hit the shape shifter in the face. She screamed in pain and the aroma of burned flesh filled her nostrils. Before she could turn in the direction of her attacker a second blue star bolt found its target. Rouge's hands resumed their default form and she clutched her burned face with them while she screamed bloody murder.

"Mallah! The child!"

Nightstar was now levitating above the ground where she landed. She was beginning to form another star bolt in her right hand as Mallah got her into his crosshairs and pulled the trigger. The cannon vomited its destructive blast as Raven began to recover and sat up. As she watched the scene unfold a yellow blur ran into the clearing and collected the young princess before the laser could hit its mark.

Kid Flash, with Nightstar in his arms, stopped next to the demoness.

"You OK, Raven?"

"I'm fine, take the child back to the bunker and wait for us there."

Wally nodded his understanding and in a split second he was gone. Raven then ran to Gar's side. The Beast was gone and he had resumed his default human form. His body was covered in burns and he was breathing laboriously and he began to cough up blood. Raven fought back the her own fears and could feel through her empathic senses the excruciating pain he was in. It was then that something snapped within her. It was almost an encore of the time long ago when Terra got her to completely lose her composure, except now Raven was older and had better control over her emotions. But there was no mistake to be made, seeing Gar in the condition he was in set off something loose in her, something deep, something protective … something Trigonic.

She turned towards Mallah and the still disabled Madam Rouge and she began to grow until she towered over them. Her four crimson red eyes appeared and dark tendrils sprouted from all over her body, crushing the few remaining robots with impunity.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!" She roared at them in a deep, guttural and otherworldly voice.

Mallah stared in horror at the monster that continued to grow in front of him. He considered firing his cannon at it but in a fit of cowardice he threw down his laser cannon and after tossing the still disabled Rouge over his shoulder he turned around and fled into the jungle.

Raven watched them flee and once she was satisfied that they were gone she approached Gar's still unconscious form. Tears of blood dripped from her 4 crimson red eyes and she began to transform back into her normal human form, slowly shrinking in size as the tendrils disappeared. She then kneeled next to him and began to treat his burns with her blue light.

After 15 minutes Gar opened his eyes and found himself staring into her indigo orbs. He smiled at her and opened his mouth to speak.

"Did … we … win?"

"We did. Wally showed up and took Nightstar with him back to the hidden base."

"Good ... Rae, did you … really ... mean it?" He struggled to speak.

"Yes, I did, and I still do."

Before he could reply he lost consciousness and collapsed. She was still kneeling next to him and caught his head before it hit the ground. She pulled him close to her; resting his head on her bosom and remained that way until Batman arrived 15 minutes later.

_**-(scene break)-**_

Gar moaned as he woke up. He was feeling both groggy and disoriented; his mind was confused by all that had happened. He recalled the pain he endured when Mallah shot him with the cannon blast, and as he reached form his wound he noticed that it was now gone.

He opened his eyes and saw the fluorescent lights on the ceiling and after a few moments he figured out that he was in one of the dormitory rooms in the secret base. He and Cyborg had returned after the time they defeated the Brotherhood and expanded the secret bunker when they added 3 large rooms to it.

As he gathered his wits he became aware that he was feeling much better and noticed that his burns were gone. He realized that Raven must have healed him using her powers. As he became more lucid he recalled Raven's words: "I love you."

He then remembered asking her if she really meant it, but couldn't recall her reply.

Suddenly he became aware that he wasn't alone. He gently rolled over and saw that Raven was curled up and lying next to him, snoring softly. Her cape was draped over a chair and he saw her boots on the floor.

Her words echoed in his mind. They had caught him off guard, he certainly wasn't expecting them. He knew that she loved him, as a close friend. But finding her sleeping next to him made it clear that her affection for him was now being taken to an entirely different and much higher level.

He ran his fingers through her hair and closed his eyes, letting his mind take him back to that fateful day that had happened only a month before, the event that had brought him home.

While word of his involvement in the creation of the miracle vaccine was kept secret from the general public at his request, the scientific community knew better. Even before commencement he began to receive professorship offers from schools around the country. Some were very generous in the area of compensation and more than a few schools even offered him tenure from the day he would start. There were also offers from some very prestigious east coast schools, including Gotham University, which he was ready to accept, except for one small matter.

The truth was that there was only a single University he had applied at for a teaching position and there had so far been no response: UC Jump City. As if by fate their offer arrived the day before he was going to accept at position at Gotham University. UCJC was a very good school, but Gotham University had a better biology department and was the obvious choice. Yet he waited, making excuses to defer replying to their offer. There was really only one reason why he wanted the job at UCJC, and it was sleeping next to him.

In hindsight he realized that was a foolish reason to choose UCJC over Gotham U. He and Raven had indeed become close friends during their final years as Teen Titans, and they spent a lot of time together during the final year, going out on "non date" dates, just two friends catching a movie or going out to dinner. There was a certain level of comfort they shared with each other that year and it wasn't until he moved to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State that he began to understand just how much she meant to him.

They kept in touch of course, through instant messaging, email and the occasional phone call. He visited her twice during his undergrad days and almost came back to Jump City when he completed his degree and only stayed in Fort Collins because UC Jump City didn't have a school of veterinary medicine.

That had been a tumultuous time for him. Working on a single doctorate was enough work already, but taking on a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the same time was pure insanity. His social life ground to a screeching halt and he spoke with Raven on the phone maybe 2 or 3 times a semester and had even less contact with the others.

But that was in the past now, and the present was all too much like their former lives. He didn't give supervillains all that much thought while in college, even though his peers constantly reminded him of his past life and he signed autographs during his 8 long years at CSU. Strange thing though, after being a student for 8 years it wasn't hard at all to go back in hero mode.

He continued to run his ungloved fingers through her hair, and it dawned on him that he was venturing into uncharted waters. He had been uncertain of just how much Raven felt for him. Sure, she had invited him to live with her in her home, but that didn't seem like such a big deal at the time. After all, they lived together in the Tower for years.

But now he knew it was more, so much more than that.

As he continued to stroke her hair she woke up. She stretched and yawned before she realized what had happened. She bolted out of the bed.

"I … I … I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep while watching you." She stammered as she blushed deeply.

Gar sat up in the bed. He was only clad in his boxers and a T-shirt. He took her hand and patted the spot next to him, inviting her to sit down. She complied and joined him, clearly nervous about what was going to happen next.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Pretty good, thanks for healing my burns. Where's Nightstar?"

"You're welcome. She's with Jinx and Wally in the next room." She replied.

"Good, everyone's safe then."

"So far, yes, we are."

A silence permeated the room and the tension could be felt in the air. Taking the initiative, he broke it.

"Rave, in the clearing, you said you loved me."

"Yes … I did."

"Did you mean … you know … like a friend?"

She shook her head but did not reply.

"So more than just like a friend?"

She nodded and began to blush. "Gar, do you love me?"

He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. The first kiss was tender and gentle, but each subsequent kiss became more passionate. Raven reciprocated. They continued for several minutes, until they stopped to take a breather.

"Gar, forgive me if this sounds stupid, but I really don't have any experience with this sort of thing … this … this means that you're my boyfriend now … right?"

He gave her one of his old school goofy smiles before answering.

"Yeah, I am. And you're my girlfriend now, right?"

"Yes … I am."

Right after they resumed their smooch fest there was a loud knock on the door.

"I forgot, we're also super heroes." He sighed.

"Just for now. After this is over you're going to begin teaching and I'll catch up with back orders at the store."

"What do we do after that Rae?"

"I don't know. Whatever we want, I guess."

There was a second loud knock.

"Duty calls, Gar." She sighed as she slipped her cape back on.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Thanks to everyone for reading and especially to those who take the time to review.

I'm skipping the mailbag today.


	7. THe Barista

The humming sound was still there.

Victor rolled over and got up from his bed. The room was small and had no windows, which wasn't surprising as it was a prison cell. The humming sound came from the fluorescent tubes on the ceiling, which illuminated his cell with their unnatural light. The room was Spartan and only contained the bed, a toilet, a small sink that had a drinking fountain built in and a retractable power cable that was compatible with the charging port that was hidden under his left armpit.

Victor only knew that he had held been in captivity for 23 days because of the real time clock that was built into the cybernetic half his brain. It had a precision of 1/10 of second per year, so he knew that he really had already been locked up for that amount of time: 23 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes, 12 seconds and 76 milliseconds.

He walked over to the small sink that was built into one of the cell's titanium alloy walls and opened the faucet, splashing the lukewarm water on his face. The walls, along with the reinforced door, were strong enough to contain even Starfire. He knew she was nearby, as he heard her periodically try to break out of her own cell, which he judged to be not far away.

He looked in the small mirror above the sink, and saw his face staring back at him. 6 years had passed since he replaced his blue tech implants with new ones that not only gave him a natural look, but also a natural feel. There was still a titanium skeleton under his artificial flesh and he was still stronger than a normal human being, but the truth was he sacrificed a great deal to adopt his new persona.

He ran his fingers through the dreadlocks that grew out of his scalp and blinked his now two brown eyes.

The transformation had not been an easy or trivial one. Virtually every subsystem in Victor's artificial body had to be re-engineered, and the tradeoffs were many. First of all he had to give up all of his weapon systems: both sonic cannons, the missiles and the rockets built into his limbs, it all had to go if he was to feel as if he was really made out of flesh and blood.

The super strength also had to go as the hydraulic systems, servos and gears went away and were replaced by artificial muscles that while stronger than real human muscle tissue couldn't hold a candle to his old mechanical body.

Of course he knew why he did it. He didn't want to be Cyborg anymore; he wanted to be Victor Stone.

And it worked wonderfully. Like his former teammates, Raven and Garfield, he went to college; where he triple majored in Computer, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and graduated with honors. He was immediately hired by STAR Labs and was getting close to his fourth anniversary with the august institution.

There was a fly in the ointment however: He struck out with the ladies.

It wasn't that he couldn't get dates, in fact much like Garfield he was constantly being asked out by the ladies. And just as with his green buddy, once they got know him better and found out he wasn't really normal they dropped him like a hot potato. It didn't matter how natural he looked and felt, once they learned that most of his body was artificial … it was over.

Even the women at STAR Labs, many of whom helped him create his new look kept a respectful distance from him. That was a low blow for him, as most of the eligible bachelorettes at the research lab were hardly what one would have considered to be "hotties" and would be better described as mousy nerds.

Victor was beginning to debate over whether or not he should go back to his old look and tech when he met her.

Her name was Miranda and she was a barista at the onsite coffee shop at STAR Labs. He remembered well the day he first met her. One of the long time baristas had vanished overnight and was never heard from again. She was hired to replace him the following week and she hit the ground running, quickly becoming a favorite with the clientele, thanks in large part to her good looks and bubbly personality. When he walked up to the counter and saw her for the first time he stared at her, almost unable to contain his amazement.

"What can I get you?" She asked cheerfully, seemingly unaware that he was slack jawed.

"Uh ... a large latte ... please." He gurgled in reply.

The perky young girl was Sarasim's splitting image. They could have been sisters, if not outright twins.

She quickly prepared the caffeinated drink.

"Here you go … say … are you OK? You look kinda spaced out."

Victor quickly regained his composure.

"Sorry, you just look a lot like someone I used to know."

"Really? I hope she was nice."

A faint smile appeared on Victor's face.

"Yeah, she was."

"You remind me of someone too." She replied.

Victor sighed. This one was going to be a record for him: From interested to scared away in just a few minutes.

"I used to be Cyborg, one of the Teen Titans. Actually, I still am a cyborg, I only changed my look.

A huge smile appeared on the girl's face.

"Wow! You look so handsome; you must have to beat the girls off with a baseball bat! You're a superhero and … well … what can I say … you're hot!"

He was unable to conceal his surprise.

"You do? Even though I'm mostly artificial? And I'm not a superhero anymore."

"You aren't? Why?"

"I replaced most of my tech so I could look and feel like a real person."

"But you are a real person."

She extended her diminutive hand to him.

"I'm Miranda DaSilva."

He extended his large beefy hand to her and they shook.

"I'm Victor Stone. Nice to meet you Miranda."

A few days later Miranda asked Victor out on a date. Many more dates followed. After several weeks he introduced Miranda to his father, who joined them for some coffee. Victor could tell immediately that his father didn't like her, he never asked why, but he presumed that it was because she was "beneath him", a mere barista. It wasn't hard to figure out, as his father kept introducing him to other STAR Labs engineers and scientists, but as always those women were not interested in him. They might write a tech journal article about their contribution to his new tech, but that was as far as their interest in him would go. To them he was nothing more than a lab specimen. Then again, he wasn't all that interested in them either as most were geeks who were so socially awkward that by comparison Raven was the life of the party.

Their relationship continued to grow, until one day she showed him some pamphlets for a vacation resort in the Caribbean. She not so subtly hinted to him that she was ready to take their relationship to the next level at the tropical destination.

There was one very important part of Victor's body that was not artificial and her invitation garnered his undivided attention as he was still a virgin. He quickly agreed and she surprised him when she purchased the vacation package herself. He protested, saying that he should pay as he made a lot more money than she did and that it was the gentlemanly thing to do anyway.

She insisted on paying, saying that she had come across a windfall, an inheritance, so it wasn't a hardship for her. She also told him not to tell his father. He agreed, knowing that his old man would try to talk him out of it while setting him up on a date with yet another mousy, dorky girl from the office who in the end wouldn't like him anyway.

Finally, the day arrived and they boarded the jet for San Benito, where the all inclusive resort was located. The flight was uneventful and by that afternoon they were in their tropical paradise. They spent the rest of the day at the beach, and after that they went out for dinner and dancing.

They returned to their room late that night and true to her promise, she made a man out of him. He recalled how happy and peaceful he was when they fell asleep in each other's arms that night.

He woke up the next morning in the prison cell, after a long drug induced sleep. During the past 23 days he had seen no one. His meals appeared through a slot on the bottom of the door. During his imprisonment he meticulously examined the cell, searching for a flaw that he could use to escape but found none.

Other than Starfire, who cursed in Tamaranian on a regular basis when she pounded on her cell door, he didn't know if the others were there as well. He called out to her but she never replied, at least not in English. He searched for clues in his cell that might give away the identity of his captors, but found none. After the three weeks he began to worry that he might lose his mind in his boring prison, as there was nothing to do.

That was when the cell door opened for the first time. It slowly creaked open and he saw that the titanium alloy door was 3 inches thick, overkill for him even in his old Titans tech. As the door swung open it revealed a platoon of robots with laser rifles aimed at him. Two robots entered his cell and shackled his hands and feet. Once he was secure the platoon parted and he saw him.

"General Immortus. I should have known."

"Welcome Cyborg, it is gratifying to have you as our honored guest."

"Yeah right. So tell me, who was Miranda?"

The general chuckled.

"No one special. Just a mercenary we hired to capture you. We actually had plastic surgery done to make her look like your cavewoman crush."

Victor looked astonished.

"How did you know?"

Immortus smiled.

"I was there Cyborg. I was a teenager in the village. You wouldn't have noticed me; after all you couldn't take your eyes off of our fearless leader."

Cyborg clenched his teeth, snarling at the general as he lunged at him. The robots grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Don't be upset Cyborg. By the way, Miranda said you were actually quite satisfying in bed, well … at least for a first timer."

Victor calmed himself and regained his composure.

"What do you want from me?"

"Patience Cyborg, you will soon find out."

The robots dragged Victor out of his cell into the hallway. He could see that the cell block was large, as he saw at least 30 doors identical to the one on his cell. When he turned to look down the other way he gasped at what he saw.

Two robots were dragging an also shackled Dick Grayson down the hallway. His head hung limply and the robots appeared to be unconcerned.

"Nightwing!"

The former Boy Wonder did not respond, but Starfire's alien voice echoed from the end of the hallway, cursing in Tamaranian. She pounded her door with such vigor that the hallway vibrated, but her cell door held firm, containing her. The robots opened another cell door and after unshackling him Nightwing was tossed into his cell as if he was a bag of refuse, and the door was slammed shut behind him.

"A pity. He refused to talk. The Brain tried to probe his mind, but his mental blocks were very strong. Of course there were consequences. Perhaps you will be more cooperative, right Mr. Stone? Or should we invite your father to our party?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Nightwing slowly woke up. Every muscle in his body felt as if it was on fire but he ignored the searing pain and lifted himself from the floor, grunting as he reached an upright position. He staggered over to the sink and took a drink from the fountain, and spat out blood. He repeated the process until his spittle was clear.

As he turned towards his bunk he heard her scream in Tamaranian, and she resumed pounding her cell door. He sat down on his bunk and recalled the series of events that led to their imprisonment.

Unbeknown to the others Starfire had resisted moving to Bludhaven and only agreed to the relocation after her husband promised her that the Titans would be eventually be reformed.

As Garfield figured out after a year the Princess also came to realize that the Titans were no more and that the gloomy "penthouse" in the Mecca of Crime was her new home. After Nightstar's birth she took several leaves of absence. She visited Raven, Victor and Garfield on more than one occasion. They were all happy to see her of course, but she was able to read between the lines. They had each gone their separate ways and the signs were there that the rekmas was happening. It wasn't that they didn't care about each other; they would always be friends, with a lower case 'f'. But she could tell that the special bond they shared was either gone or was at least very weak. This discouraged her to the point where she decided that there was no longer any reason to visit her friends anymore. Cyborg was too busy working at STAR Labs, Garfield was buried in his graduate work, and when she visited all he did was talk about Raven and how much he missed her.

Raven was the most inscrutable nut to crack of all. She remained her usual emotionless self, but Starfire could see that her friend wasn't well. She of course still remembered the future she visited when she pursued the time travelling villain Warp.

The memory of a demented and delusional Raven haunted her and she feared that she was witnessing the sorceress's slow but steady descent into madness. She did everything she could to draw Raven out of her shell, but nothing seemed to work. Raven would always agree to go out with her to the mall, the park or the beach, anywhere the Tamaranian requested. She would bring Nightstar along but even that failed to draw Raven out of her self-destructive death spiral.

Starfire eventually gave up as she could not longer bear to watch what she knew would eventually happen. She even warned Raven, but the sorceress merely shrugged it off and reassured Starfire that she was fine, all evidence to the contrary.

So Starfire stopped visiting her friends. At that point the Tamaranian decided to join her husband in fighting crime in Bludhaven. Unlike during her days in Jump City she regressed to her fierce Tamaranian ways and became the scourge of Bludhaven, and was even more feared than her own husband. She adopted a dark costume that matched his, which made her nearly invisible in the night time sky and adopted the hero name of Nightfire.

The years passed and even though the Graysons were able to curb the tide of lawlessness in their adoptive home time they were never able to eliminate it, just as Batman couldn't do so in nearby Gotham. They cooperated with Bruce on occasion and she soon found that she no longer thought of herself as a Titan but rather as a member of the Batclan.

Still, some things didn't seem to change. One of them was Nightwing's infatuation with Slade, who was rumored to have set up shop in Bludhaven after recently escaping from prison.

Nightwing of course went mental. He virtually turned the town inside out searching for his one eyed nemesis. He used every contact he had, hitting up every pimp, bookie and two bit thug. They all said the same thing. The word on the street was that Slade was in town, but no one had actually seen him.

This went on for weeks and Nightwing became increasingly frustrated and agitated with his lack of success. Batman suggested that he drop it for now as his own contacts said the same thing: No one had actually seen Slade, but the rumors of his presence in Gotham and Bludhaven were as abundant as were the failed attempts to track down the notorious Deathstroke.

One day there was a breakthrough and Nightwing was actually able get a glimpse of his nemesis, who boarded a private yacht that set sail later that day. Nightwing was able to place a tracking device on the large boat and after a few days it arrived in the tropical island of San Benito. They dropped Nightstar off with Alfred and headed off to the island without telling Bruce.

Nightwing was still kicking himself for falling into the trap. Once they arrived in San Benito they began to ask the locals if there was anything unusual going on in the island, to which most merely shrugged their shoulders in response. The local chief of police visited them, reassuring them that there was no supervillain lair on his island and reminded them that he would not tolerate vigilantism and would have them arrested if they were to engage in it.

That night, while resting in their hotel room, just before they got ready to call it a night there was a faint knock on their door. Nightwing opened it and found it was hotel night shift manager. The young man informed him that his cousin had heard some strange sounds on the island's north side, sounds like those of a jet or a rocket.

They thanked the young man and after changing into their dark costumes they stole out into the night. Starfire carried him under his arms and they flew off into the dark moonless night.

The ambush was perfect; they were hopelessly outnumbered and were quickly captured. Starfire was knocked out and tossed into her cell. The Brain later tried to enter her mind and she resisted. After an hour the Brain relented but left her his calling card. Once the vilain had retreated from her mind she found that she could not any longer speak nor understand English. Nightwing had been forced to watch her being mentally tortured and understood what the Brain had done. Starfire called out to her beloved in Tamaranian and he responded in English while the Brain laughed his pleasure.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Victor grumbled as the robotic platoon prodded him with the barrels of their laser rifles, trying to get him to walk faster. They had blindfolded him, but the cybernetic half of his brain recorded in absolute detail every single step he took. After what felt like an eternity he heard a pair of doors slide open. They led him through the doors and after they closed the robots removed his blind fold.

The room was brightly lit and a powerful light was shining directly into his eyes. He blinked several times and shielded his eyes with his still shackled hands. His eyes soon adjusted and he saw them: The Brain, Mallah, Rouge and Immortus.

"What do you want?" He barked at them.

"These. Is. No. Need. To. Be. Belligerent." The Brain replied in his halting synthetic voice. "All. We. Want. Is. Information."

"What kind of information?"

"We want to know where the Titans secret bunker is located." Mallah chuckled.

"And why would I tell you that?"

"We can be very persuasive Cyborg. We can extract this information by force if necessary."

The former Titan grinned before gesturing with his head, giving it a quick shake.

"Sorry guys, I kept that information in the cybernetic half of my brain, and I just deleted it, it's gone."

"You will be punished for that." Rouge seethed.

"Yes. He. Will. Be. Punished. But. That. Will. Have. To. Wait." The Brain announced before pausing. "Bring. In. The. Next. One."

The sliding doors opened and two more robots dragged in a young Hispanic male who appeared to be in his early 20's.

"Dejenme! Sueltenme! No voy a cooperar."

Victor stared at the young man and finally recognized him.

"Mas?"

"No, soy Menos! Ayudame Cyborg, ayudame por favor!"

"No one can help you my young Guatemalan. And you will tell us where the secret base is. Do it, or we will destroy your mind!" Madam Rouge hissed.

_**-( scene break )-**_

I decided to give BB and Raven a little break today. This chapter was very heavy with the narrative. More dialog next time.

**Guest** - "the story is very interesting. why delete carved into stone. anyway both very good stories can't wait for next chapter"

_Actually, Carved in Stone sucked. I've been thinking about killing it for over a month._

**JOHNXgambit** - "I remembered that scene I pictured him falling flat on his face and that had me laughing for 2 minutes"

_Glad you liked it._

**bluedog197** -"I can't think strait too much fluff aww how sweet and awesome part with the beast and ravens demon side great work"

_This is definitely a fluffy story._

**Shadico** - "HAPPINESS OVERLOAD. CANNOT COMPUTE. ALLLLL THE FEELS. What a chapter. Looooove love love it. Oh man. This story needs to never end if it's getting off to this fantastic of a start, holy crap. Great stuff Force!"

_Thanks, like I said before, this story started off great until I ruined it after chapter 20. Hopefully it will be better this time around._

**krostovikraven1** - "I liked her confession but her timing was terrible. Poor Gar was beaten up mercilessly but the Beast showed up,yay!"

_Raven is known for her emotional constipation. She figured it was now or never._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Lucky thing Mallah and Rouge didn't got Devoured By Darkness or a Black Onslaught by Raven"

_They did run for their lives_

**TheThoughtsofKarasu** - "Funny, just before Raven turned into her demonic form I was thinking to myself that she would be able to take down Mallah and Madame Rouge easily if she was angered like that."

_Great minds think alike!_

**DeeThom** - "Finally some BBRae fluff earlier on in a story. But I'm excited! This remake is GREAT so far! Good job!"

_Thanks, I will be more careful this time around._

**titanfan45** - "Your timing couldn't be better. Great chapter as always, it was the perfect read before calling it a day."

I aim to please.


	8. Titans To The Rescue!

"Duty calls Gar." She sighed as she slipped her cape back on.

Gar watched as Raven stepped into her boots. He stood up and began to scan the room, searching for his own costume. The room had 3 sets of bunk beds and there was a small bathroom attached to the room. Raven walked over to a chest of drawers, from where she produced a fresh Doom Patrol costume, which she handed to him.

"The one you were wearing was ruined. I hope this one fits. Mine was also ruined and I had to let out a seam on the ones I left here 8 years ago."

"It should be fine; I've barely gained any weight since then, maybe 2 or three pounds." He replied as he slipped his trousers on.

"I wish I could say the same thing."

"You're not fat Rae, if anything whatever weight you gained went to the right places."

Raven snorted her disagreement.

"Is there a guy anywhere who doesn't like big boobs?"

He pulled his shirt over his head before replying.

"I suppose not, but for the record you don't have 'big boobs'."

"Nice try Gar, but I've grown into a D cup in case you haven't noticed."

"I've never bought a bra Raven, so that doesn't mean anything to me." He answered as he slipped on his shoes.

There was a third knock. Raven opened the door and was greeted by Jinx.

The mistress of bad luck had also changed over the years. Her figure was a little more mature now, but she still retained some of her old stick figure. She now wore her pink hair in a ponytail and pretty much wore the same costume from her Hive-5 days. She and Wally tied the knot just before the Titans disbanded but they still had yet to start a family. Central City was their home base and the couple became a crime fighting squad on their own.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked with a snarky grin.

"Nothing that can't wait until later."

Jinx gave both Raven and Gar a good scan.

"You guys are looking good, I can't remember the last time I saw either of you."

"Thanks Jinx, where's Nightstar?"

"She's still asleep. Come on, we're all waiting for you guys."

They followed Jinx down the utilitarian concrete lined hallway inside the bunker, for that is what it was, a bunker. The secret base was originally planned as a hideout to use during an emergency. After the first incident with the Brotherhood of Evil Cyborg decided that it not only needed to be hidden, but impervious as well. He returned and with Changeling's help they reinforced the original structure and expanded it as well. After the team breakup Gar never imagined they would ever use it again, and yet here they were, once again.

They entered the bunker's much smaller common room. There they found Aqualad, Red Star, Kid Flash, The Herald and Kole. Gnarrk was nowhere to be seen.

"This is it?" Raven asked. "Is there no one else?"

"I'm afraid so Raven." Kole replied. From the look on her face she looked as if she had been crying.

"Did they capture Gnarrk?"

Kole nodded and after trying to control herself she began to weep.

"Where's Batman?" Gar asked.

"He had to return to Gotham. He said that there was some trouble with the Joker." Aqualad replied. "He said that we should just stay out of sight until the core Justice League members return to Earth, and that they would help us deal with the Brotherhood."

"And when will that be?"

"He said that he didn't know. He suggested that we stay hidden here until then."

"That's unacceptable; we can't abandon our friends to the Brotherhood of Evil." Raven retorted angrily. "For all we know they're all in great peril as we speak."

"Raven is correct. To do so would be dishonorable." Red Star added in his thick Russian accent.

"So what do we do?" Kole whimpered. "I need to save Gnarrk, but how? Raven, Changeling, what can we do?"

Raven frowned.

"Normally Nightwing would know what to do."

"Maybe." The Herald interjected. "But he's not here."

"First we need to find out where the Brotherhood is hiding. We should also try to contact the Doom Patrol." Gar commanded the team.

"I'm step ahead of you chief. I came across their jet before I found you guys. I put a tracking device on it and I found out where it went: San Benito." Kid Flash proudly announced.

"San Benito? You mean the resort island? "

"The one and the same."

"And while you guys were recovering we did some research. We contacted every hotel on the island. Guess who had a room there?" The Herald announced.

"No way, you mean all three of them were there?" Gar remarked.

"But not together. Nightwing and Starfire were staying at the Biarritz resort while Victor was at the Las Brisas resort with some Brazilian girl. They vanished within days of each other."

"Oh yeah, Vic's dad mentioned that he had a girlfriend, that they were gonna get married or something."

Raven had her arms crossed and looked lost in thought. Suddenly her eyes popped open wide.

"We need to get out of here, now!"

"But Batman said to stay here." Kid Flash replied.

"We aren't safe here. The Brain has nearly the entire Titans extended family in his clutches. He will use his powers to extract the bunker's location from someone's mind. All it will take is for a single Titan to slip and our hideout will be exposed. For all we know it's already happened."

"So what do we do?" Jinx asked in a worried voice. "Where can we go?"

"We could go to Atlantis." Aqualad volunteered.

"No! That's what they'll expect us to do. We need to go to the last place they would expect us to be."

"But Raven, where would that be?"

"I know the perfect place." Gar interrupted. "San Benito Island. So far we've done nothing but run and hide. The last thing they're expecting is for us to take the fight to them."

"But Changeling, we're outnumbered!" Kole wailed. "And we already tried to contact the Doom Patrol and couldn't find them. We need help."

"I know, the odds aren't good, but if we're gonna save them we have to make our move and do it soon. If anyone wants to sit this one out, I understand, but I'm going. Who's with me?"

Raven took his hand. "I am."

"I am at your service." Red Star announced.

"Count me in!" The Herald chimed.

"Me too." Kole announced.

"Raven, what about Nightstar?" Jinx asked. "Are we taking her there with us?"

"I don't suppose we have any other choice. Herald, can you open a portal to Tamaran?"

The masked trumpeter shook his head.

"Sorry Raven, it's too far away."

"Then she's staying with us."

Gar began to tap on a keyboard. A map of San Benito Island appeared on the screen. A flashing red dot indicated the rogue jet's location on the north side of the island. A few more keystrokes switched to a topographic map. The north side of the island was mountainous and there were tall cliffs along the coastline. That part of the island was uninhabited and the jungle area was a nature reserve.

"If I was going to build a hideout, that's where I would put it. It's illegal for people to enter the preserve so they don't have to worry about visitors other than poachers, and if they go missing … well … let's just say that no one will miss them."

Raven nodded. "I agree, Gar. Now let's go, time isn't on our side. "

Jinx went to get Nightstar and as she emerged from the room with the now semi-awake child holding her hand the Herald raised his trumpet to his lips and blew. A dark port opened in front of them, at first it was the size of a dinner plate but it quickly grew until it was 8 feet in diameter. The Titans rushed through the portal, with the Herald going through last. The portal closed behind him and a few minutes later a loud explosion was heard and the bunker's roof caved in.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Menos, whose real name was Jano Beltran, lay on the concrete floor, weeping over his personal defeat. He was dressed in a pair of designer jeans and a silk shirt. He and his brother Tevo, AKA Mas, decided to quit the hero business altogether when the Titans disbanded and became a circus act, Los Hermanos Relampago, with the Mexican Atayde Circus and toured all of Latin America as the Circus's centerpiece act. They were now both 24 years old and Menos was married, his wife's name was Maricela and they had no children. Being that Menos was married the two brothers did not live together, which is why the Brotherhood had no trouble catching them.

"Perdoname Cyborg, fracase! El Cerebro me saco el secreto!"

Victor kneeled over to console the young man. The Brotherhood had Maricela in their custody and by threatening to harm her they broke down Menos' mental barriers and the Brain was able to find the location of the secret bunker.

"You couldn't help it man, the Brain fought dirty."

"Only. The. Weak. Abide. By. Rules. When. They. Fight. Cyborg. The. Strong. Will. Do. Whatever. It. Takes. To. Win. And. That. Is. Why. In. The. End. Evil. Prevails."

The sliding doors to the Brotherhood's command center slid open and General Immortus entered with an evil grin painted on his face.

"Your. Report. General."

"The Titans secret base was indeed located where we were told it was. After bombardment it was completely destroyed. We did not detect any survivors. The changeling and the sorceress are no more."

Victor grimaced upon hearing those words and fought back the tears as he didn't want to give the Brotherhood the pleasure of witnessing his pain, which was overwhelming. He hadn't seen either of them in years but learning that they had been killed somehow evaporated the distance of time. He recalled video footage from his memory banks and saw the day they all first met, the day they moved into the Tower, when Raven hugged BB after the Malchior incident, the appearance of the Beast, their struggle against Trigon and how Raven vanquished him. He saw it all in a flash and was no longer able to contain himself and he began to sob, much to The Brain's and Immortus' delight.

"You're gonna pay for this." He growled at them.

"You. Are. In. No. Position. To. Make. Threats. Cyborg. But. Do. Not. Mourn. Your. Friends. As. You. Will. Soon. Be. Joining. Them."

Two robots flanked Victor and began to lead him away. As they reached the sliding doors he grabbed one of the robots and began to struggle with it as he attempted to take its rifle away from it. The other robot flipped its rifle around and hit Victor on the head with the weapon's butt. He collapsed immediately and was unconscious. The two robots aimed their rifles at his supine form and prepared to fire.

"Wait. Do. Not. Fire."

The robots stopped with their rifles still aimed at the former Titan. Immortus gave the Brain a look that was rife with curiosity.

"I. Want. Him. To. Suffer. More." He explained. "General. Please. Locate. The. Bodies. And. Bring. Them. Here. Once. He. And. The. Others. See. That. Raven. And. Changeling. Have. Met. Their. End. We. Can. Then. Terminate. The. Others."

"You do not wish to freeze them like last time?"

"No. We. Will. Not. Make. That. Mistake. Again."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The steaming tropical jungle surrounded the Titans as they emerged from the dark portal. The foliage was thick and it was teeming with life as the buzzing sound of insects echoed around them. Exotic aromas of decaying fruit and other indescribable scents assaulted their nostrils as the humidity weighed over them like a heavy wet blanket. Jinx looked up and saw a capuchin monkey swinging above, screeching as it warned the other jungle inhabitants of the intruders' arrival.

"Are we in the right place?" Raven asked.

Kid Flash pulled out his homing device and checked the display.

"We are. The tracking device isn't far, a few hundred yards at most." He then pointed. "It's this way."

The rest of the team gathered behind the yellow clad speedster and followed him down a nearly nonexistent path. They had to proceed slowly, as they tried to remain hidden while they covered the very uneven terrain. They encountered all sorts of creatures both great and small, from a hairy tarantula to a tapir that at first challenged them before it had a change of heart when Gar morphed into a Jaguar and scared it away. After almost an hour they finally saw it: a large cave.

"It's in there, there's no doubt about it." Kid Flash announced as he double checked his tracking device.

"What do we do now? Do we just go on in?"

"That would not be a good idea Miss Kole. I am certain that the entrance to the cave is monitored." Red Star informed her.

"I'll go have a look." Gar announced as he morphed into a dragonfly and flew to the cave's entrance.

He darted around, trying to get a better look at the interior when another dragonfly flew past him into the cave. The rogue insect had barely penetrated the cave's perimeter when a flash of red light shot out and hit it, incinerating it instantly. Changeling watched the real bug meet its fiery demise and flew away, not wishing to tempt fate any more than needed. He landed next to Raven and resumed his human form.

"I guess we aren't going in that way."

"Are you OK Gar?"

He sighed.

"That was too close for comfort Rae. I was about to go into the cave. Maybe Batman's right, I am out of training and not up to this." He shook his head in self doubt.

Raven placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.

"It's not like we're strangers to close calls Gar, we've handled them in the past. Don't doubt yourself … I don't doubt you … neither should you."

Wally pulled another gadget out of his belt and began to scan the area with it. After a few minutes he gestured for everyone to gather around. As they did he placed the device on top of a large rock and tapped a button on it. A holographic representation of the Brotherhood's lair appeared, floating in the air.

"Batman gave me this last year, I'm glad I hung onto it. Anyway, the scan isn't perfect, but it turned out better than I hoped."

He pointed at the different levels in the 3D image.

"There's the cave. As you can see there are 15 levels. The one on the bottom is by far the largest and judging by its layout it looks like a cell block … there are … looks like about 80 cells. They could all easily be there."

"Is it guarded?" Red Star asked.

"I can't tell. The lair was carved out of solid granite; it's too dense to allow life form or robot detection."

"We should assume that it's monitored, just like the cave entrance. We'll have to move fast, and there might be lasers there too." Raven interjected.

"So what's the plan chief?" Wally asked Gar.

The changeling closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he thought about what to do. Once he was ready he opened his eyes and addressed his impromptu team.

"Raven, you take Nightstar with you. The two of you can open the cells and free the prisoners. Keep your dark shield up at all times, I don't want a laser to take you down, also I want you to take us into the cell block. Nightstar, your mom and dad are inside that cave and you're going to help us rescue them. You do whatever your Aunt Raven tells you to do. And don't be shy with your star bolts, if you see a robot, take it down, but if it's a person ask Aunt Raven first, we don't want to shoot any Titans by accident."

He turned to Red Star and Kole.

"You two work together to take down any guards you see. There will be a lot of Titans to rescue and we don't know what shape they're in, so we have to keep their escape route clear. Both of you should be immune to the lasers."

"Wally and Jinx, more of the same. Take out as many Robots as you can. Stay away from the lasers."

"Aqualad, Herald, you're with me. Herald, you'll help the Titans out of their cells and will get them out of the cell block with your trumpet. Aqualad, you and I will cover his back."

"Any questions?"

There were none. Gar could see the steely resolve in his teammate's eyes. They knew that great peril was waiting for them in the Brotherhood's lair but the expressions on their faces proclaimed that they were ready for whatever was in the underground base. Gar suddenly felt humbled, that such a fine team of superheroes had placed their collective trust in him to lead them in what promised to be a challenging if not impossible showdown. Unlike last time there would be no last second cavalry to back him up, so there was no room for error. Even a single mistake could be their undoing.

He turned to Raven to give her the go ahead to begin teleporting, but before he could she raised a hand to stop him and instead pulled him aside, so they could speak in private.

"Gar, there's something I want to tell you."

"Sure Rae, what is it?"

"Don't get me wrong, I have full faith in you and I believe we will get out of this alive … but in case we don't … there is something I want to tell you."

She paused.

"Gar, I … I can see us being together the rest of our lives … you're that special to me … I just … I just wanted you to know that before we go in there."

Gar's expression softened and then he smiled.

"Rave, did you just ask me to marry you?"

The gray sorceress was mortified.

"I'm sorry Gar … that was a stupid thing to say … I only became your girlfriend a few hours ago and now I'm babbling about being together forever like some sort of romantic fool … I can only imagine how pathetic you must think I am …"

"Rave"

"… how desperate I must come across as …"

"Raven"

" … I mean who in his right mind would want to spend his life with me?"

"I would. And I accept your proposal."

Raven stared at him in shock.

"You … you will?"

He nodded happily at her.

"Gar, you don't think it's premature to do that? We just became a couple…"

"Rae, we've known each other for 14 years. I think that's more than enough time to get to know each other."

Raven threw her arms around him and the two shared a deep kiss while their teammates watched from a distance with perplexed eyes, not knowing nor understanding what had just happened. After they released each other Gar draped an arm around her shoulder and they turned to face their team.

"Listen up! Raven and I are gonna get married. That means that this mission is going to be a success, because everyone is invited to the wedding, and you're all coming. Understood?"

The assembled team raised their fists and cheered upon hearing the news.

"OK everyone; gather around Raven, we're going in!"

The team assembled around Raven and her brand new fiancé.

"Take us in Raven, let's go kick some butt!"

"Gar, aren't you forgetting to say something?"

"I am?" He paused to ponder what he was supposed to say.

"Of course! It really never was my line, but you're right, it has to be said."

He cleared his throat before proceeding.

"Titans, GO!"

Raven's dark hemisphere appeared and they all disappeared into the ground.

_**-( scene break )-**_

I have to say, interest in this story has dropped like a brick. If the interest isn't there, I might shelve it again for a while. I figure that many of you are dealing with finals and such, so maybe I should wait until summer before continuing. Let me know what you think.

I will be taking a week off anyway, as I'm having some minor surgery tomorrow. So this is the last update for a while.


	9. Perks

A lone robot marched methodically down the long hallway, its metallic feet clicking against the concrete floor with the rhythmic precision of a metronome. Its laser rifle was slung over its mechanical shoulder while its gaze was fixed straight ahead.

The cell block was echoing with fists pounding on the cell doors, but it was that way more often than not. The prisoners could bang all they desired on the doors, it would make no difference; they were not going to escape.

The cell block was 300 feet underground and the only access to the level was via a service elevator and a concrete lined stairwell at the end of the hallway that was flanked on each side with 42 reinforced titanium alloy doors. The detention level with its 84 cells was virtually impregnable and the robotic guard was a mere formality. No one was getting out.

The robot continued to march in perfect military fashion, even goose stepping as General Immortus was going through one of his Nazi phases, no doubt driven by the villain's nostalgia for the years he served as one of the generals in the legendary Panzer division.

The robot stopped 10 feet in front of the elevator and performed a perfect about face that would have made any drill sergeant proud. What the android saw next with its electronic eyes was unexpected.

A man dressed in an old Soviet military uniform swung what looked like a crystalline statue of girl, which hit the droid in its mid section, splitting it in half.

Red Star continued to pummel the droid with Kole's crystalline body. Once he was satisfied that the robot was defunct he placed Kole back on the ground and she reverted to her humanoid form. As the others she too had grown up and had become a shapely young woman.

"Are you alright, Miss Kole? You are uninjured? I did swing very hard at the robot."

"Don't worry, Red Star, when I'm in my crystalline form you couldn't hurt me even if you tried."

Changeling ordered the Herald to open a portal at the other end of the hallway, which was a dead end.

"Where to?" He asked the changeling.

"Titans Tower East!" Gar shouted. "Bumblebee kept it active. Everyone else, let's get these doors open. We don't have much time before we're up to our eyeballs in robots. And don't forget, this is a rescue mission; we'll get the Brotherhood later. Titans GO!"

The Titans began searching at the end of the hallway near the elevator, so they would work their way back to the portal. The doors proved tricky to open as card keys were required. Wally had to hot wire each door one at a time. After what felt like a small eternity the first door finally opened. Raven was ready to assist and the cell's occupant was none other than Bumblebee herself. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Raven was able to immediately tell that she wasn't well and stepped up to assist her, pulling Karen's arm over her shoulder. Raven noticed that she couldn't see her wings and took a quick look at her back.

"Karen! What happened to your wings?"

"They … clipped them. Don't worry Raven, they'll grow back, it just hurts for now."

"We're getting you out of here, Karen."

Wally was already working on the second door while Changeling watched the elevator and stairwell doors nervously.

"Can't you do this any faster?"

"I am! Get off my back; I'm going as fast as I can."

"It isn't fast enough. I thought you were fast! We're gonna have company soon."

The second door slid open, revealing Argent's scowling face.

"It's about bloody time!" She howled as she charged out of her cell. "Where are they? It's payback time! They tortured me!"

"They'll be here soon. They'll be coming that way. Can you help?" He asked.

"Oh you'd better believe it, mate!" She growled.

Wally opened the next door in even less time and Garfield's eyes lit up when he saw its occupant.

"Tin man!" He shouted happily.

"I knew you'd come for me grass stain!" He replied as he noticed that Raven was standing next to the changeling, while a young Tamaranian child hovered next to her. They quickly exchanged hugs before Gar got back down to business.

"Can you hotwire these doors? It's taking Wally forever, and were gonna be up to our elbows with the Brotherhood real soon."

"Can I hotwire these doors?" He replied in an offended tone as he ripped a panel off the next cell, exposing a mess of wires. "Does Mallah have bad breath? Of course I can hotwire them!"

The next Titans to be freed were Jericho, Mas, Pantha, Menos and his wife Maricela. All looked worse for the wear and Raven quickly escorted them to the portal.

Just as she was returning to the next cells the stairwell door burst open and robots began to hemorrhage out the now open door into cell block.

"Heads up they're here! Cy, Wally you keep opening doors. Raven! Raise your shield and escort anyone else we find. Everyone else, stop those robots."

No sooner than he barked his orders the robots began to fire. Raven shielded Wally and Victor while they worked at opening more doors. Every time an empty cell was revealed they cursed over the time that was wasted.

Nightstar began to throw her blue star bolts from the safety of Raven's bubble, taking down robots with remarkable ease. Raven immediately noticed that her aim was better than Starfire's was during her early years as a Titan. Raven also used her dark energy to keep the robots at bay, crushing strategically selected droids.

Jinx put her bad luck hexes to good use and several droids began to smoke as they malfunctioned. Red Star and Kole charged into the fray, with the Russian swinging Kole like a baseball bat, mowing down the droids with impunity.

Gar morphed into a hummingbird and began to dive bomb at the droids, which clumsily aimed their rifles at him, firing and missing. He strategically flew between the droids, which wound up shooting each other. While they were keeping the robots at bay, replacements kept pouring out of the stairwell in a never ending torrent.

Victor opened another door and Raven looked inside.

"Gar! I need your help! It's Gnarrk and he's hurt!"

Beast Boy ran past Kole and Red Star.

"Keep holding them back, and don't worry, we'll take care of him." He shouted.

Raven pulled the giant caveman out of the cell with her dark energy. He looked badly beaten and one of his eyes was so swollen he couldn't see with it.

"Gar, get him to the portal!"

Changeling morphed into a green Sasquatch and threw Gnark over his shoulder. He ran down the hallway and disappeared into the portal. He returned within moments back in his human form. The first thing he noticed was that the robots were closing in and that more rescued Titans were headed to the portal.

"Who's missing?!" He shouted above the battlefield din.

"We found everyone except for Nightwing and Starfire." Victor replied. "But something's wrong!"

"Wrong? What do you mean wrong?" Raven growled.

"I can't hear Star! She spent the past 3 weeks cursing up a storm in Tamaranian. About an hour ago she fell silent, and she only does that at night when she sleeps."

Gar quickly surveyed the hallway. There were still 23 unopened doors.

"We have to push those robots back; Wally and Vic need more time."

Raven surveyed the battle scene, there were more robots than before in the hallway, pushing in like a steady tide. There was no way they could hold them back that long. Nightstar tugged at her cape, and Raven turned, and saw the girls tear stained face.

"Aunt Raven, where is my mommy? You said she was here."

Raven closed her eyes and focused with intensity, reaching out, searching for any sign of the Graysons, but found none."

"I'm sorry sweetie, but they aren't here."

Raven's heart broke as she saw the expression on the child's face and she could feel her grief as well as the sense of abandonment she was going through. It was a sensation she was all too familiar with herself. Her first encounter with it was when her own mother, who was overwhelmed with and to be honest not too fond of her demonic daughter, sent her away to live in the monastery on Azarath. Raven recalled the bitter tears she shed after being rejected by her own mother. Of course Starfire didn't reject nor abandon her daughter, but the child simply wouldn't be able to understand how her mighty mother was taken away.

"Rae! We need to open those cells and time isn't on our side."

"Gar, I can't sense them at all. They aren't here."

"No! We can't leave without them! We can't. They have to be here somewhere!"

Changeling's protest was interrupted by a scream of pain. Aqualad has just taken a laser shot to his leg, and fell to his knees. As he ran to assist the Atlantean, Gar realized that Raven was right. They had to retreat.

"Get everyone out of here, I'll hold them back."

"No Gar, it's too dangerous, we should all retreat together."

He didn't respond as he was focusing inwardly. Raven then saw his body begin to swell and grow. His face was replaced by something savage and feral. Raven gasped, as she didn't know that he had learned how to summon the green leviathan at will. The transformation was quick and he soon towered over her, pointing towards the portal. He opened his snout and roared. Raven thought she heard the word "go" within the primal roar and she did as he told her.

Everyone began to retreat. The Beast charged into the crowd of robots and began to slash them with his claws. Red Star and Kole stayed behind to help him, but there were too many robots and they slowly retreated to the portal.

"Changeling, it is time to retreat! Everyone else has escaped!" Red Star shouted as he ran to the portal, still carrying Kole's crystallized body.

The Beast nodded and turned around, ready to make his own retreat. He saw Red Star and Kole disappear into the void and noticed that Raven was waiting for him. The robots began to fire at him and as he approached the portal he howled in pain as one of the shots found its mark. Raven extended her shield to him as he reverted to his human form and hobbled to the portal. Raven wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into the black gate, which popped like a soap bubble after they passed through it.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The first thing that Gar noticed was that the common room smelled stale and musty. Unlike Nightwing, Bumblebee never gave up the Tower East to the government, in part because there was never any interest in it. She kept a room in the Tower even though it wasn't her primary residence. She visited the old eastern headquarters once or twice a quarter, mostly to air the place out and dust it. It was obvious from the layer of dust on the couch that she hadn't been around for months. He limped into the room and looked around. Jinx was carrying Nightstar, who buried her face into the enchantress's shoulder as she wept. Jinx did her best to console her, running her fingers through her long dark hair, but it was to no avail.

The next thing he noticed was that many of the Titans were not present. He continued to limp across the room and looked around. Before he could ask Speedy answered the question that was forming in his mind.

"They're all in the infirmary, it's full." The archer announced.

Gar nodded and hobbled up to the dining table, which he hit with his fist using a hammer strike.

"Dammit! We failed!" He shouted, his voice twisted in anguish and self loathing.

Speedy acknowledged his despair with a nod.

"You did great Gar, you rescued all of us. I think Cyborg's right; they removed them an hour ago. There was nothing you guys could have done."

"Where is Victor?"

"He said he had to go to Metropolis. The Herald took him. He said he'd be back tomorrow."

"He should have asked before leaving." Changeling snorted his disapproval.

"We're not Titans anymore Gar, some of us aren't even heroes. We don't take orders from Karen or Nightwing or from you. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that you guys came for us … but … let's just say that I work alone now."

"So you're not gonna help us, Speedy? Or are you gonna help us rescue them?"

"It's Red Arrow now, and I never said I wouldn't help. I'm just reminding you that you're neither our boss nor our leader. We don't need your permission to come and go."

Gar began to tense up. He never liked Speedy or his cocky attitude. To this day he wondered why the hell he was invited to become a Titan, as he clearly was a lone wolf with an attitude problem. Gar could feel his blood pressure rise until he felt a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Gar, there's blood on … your butt." Raven informed him.

"Yeah, that's where I got hit. It's no biggie."

"I disagree, your limp is getting worse and you're still bleeding. I should take a look at it …"

"There are a few spare rooms on the fifth level if you need some privacy. First aid kit should still be in the restroom." Speedy informed them before pausing.

"Also, I just heard the news. Congrats. I always thought you guys belonged together."

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ nodded their acknowledgement before stepping into the elevator.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The guest rooms were Spartan in their appointment and were even dustier than the common room. Raven opened a window to let some fresh air inside.

She was right about Gar's condition. The wound was deep and the bleeding had yet to stop. He was limping so badly now that he couldn't walk without Raven's help by the time they reached the room. He was already resting face down on the room's sole queen sized bed. Raven approached him and placed her palm on his wounded cheek, which was still covered by his blood stained trousers.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"How do I feel? A hot chick is grabbing my butt. I actually feel pretty good."

"Correction: You fiancée is healing your butt, or at least she will once you pull your pants down." She answered in her monotone.

"Dude, this just keeps getting better."

"Be serious Gar, you know I can't heal wounds if there is cloth in the way, the fabric could get caught in the scar tissue. And like I said, we're betrothed. We're gonna be seeing a lot of each other's bodies in the near future. It's no big deal, even if your green butt is cute."

Gar smiled and adopted a less flippant demeanor.

"Betrothed? I like the sound of that, its sounds so … I don't know … historical?" He replied as he loosened his belt and dropped his pants after which Raven's blue light made its appearance.

"The concept was still in use on Azarath when I lived there."

"So what's the difference?"

"When you are betrothed there is a very firm commitment to marry. You can't back out for a trivial reason, like getting cold feet."

"Really, so what would it take to break a betrothal?"

"Something really big, like adultery. Breaking a betrothal is like getting a divorce, but even harder, you need a valid reason."

"I like that. So, are we really betrothed?"

"I suppose not. This isn't Azarath after all."

"Hey, I don't mind. I kind of still can't believe it happened. I'm not saying I'm having second thoughts, though. Heck, I'm excited."

Raven removed her palm from his butt cheek.

"OK, it's done. Here's a fresh pair of trousers."

She politely turned away from him as he changed his pants, watching discretely out of the corner of her eyes.

"There are … perks … in being betrothed … Azarathian style." She blurted out.

"Perks. What do you mean?"

"Physical intimacy … is permitted during the betrothal period. In fact, it's not unusual for the bride to be pregnant on her wedding day."

Gar smiled upon hearing about the 'perk'.

"I think I can wait until we get married, Rae."

She returned his smile.

"Mento and Elastigirl were pretty old fashioned, right?"

He nodded.

"If we were in civilization we'd never miss Mass on Sunday." He chuckled. "And Rita told me more than once that if I ever deflowered a young girl that she'd personally wring my neck."

"Good thing I'm not a young girl anymore. But what do you think Gar? Do you want to wait?"

He blushed as he nodded his head.

"I think we should, it'll make the honeymoon more special, don't you think Rae? And it won't be that long to wait. Besides, we still have to rescue Star and Nightwing."

Raven sat down next to him and gently drew him into a very passionate kiss.

"You're right, we should wait." She replied between kisses.

Suddenly Raven felt emboldened. She didn't know where the urge came from but she decided to act on it, which actually surprised her. In a calm motion she gently took his hand and gently placed his palm on her left breast. He gasped his surprise and she calmed him with another kiss.

"This should tide us over until over until our wedding night." She added in her monotone.

Somewhere in the room a light bulb exploded.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Ooooh! That was naughty. Looks like Brave and Lust showed up unexpectedly. Good thing Gar's a gentleman, or who knows what might have happened?

I'm getting this put together before I go and get my eyelids fixed (I have something called ptosis – google it if you're curious). I am posting this before heading off for my surgery, which was postponed by one day.

There was a review that caught my currently droopy eyes, and it will be the only one I cover today:

"_**I'm still interested I've just been enjoying the story to much to review."**_

Let me say just one thing: this **is the worst thing that you as a reader can do! **

Reviews are the "currency" of fanfiction. It's how you, the readers, pay the us writers for the effort that goes into writing stories. Writing reviews is how you let us know that you are enjoying the story, as opposed to simply feeling "meh" about it, which is what a non-review tells us. We know how many people read each chapter and it's really sad just how few people bother to review. In some cases it's as few as one reader out of 100 who bothers to review.

I cannot emphasize enough how much reviews mean to writers. And you don't need an account to leave a review. You can do it anonymously. So if you're reading someone's story and you like it, then for goodness' sake, write reviews!


	10. The Chaperone

The floor felt as cold as it was hard and even though he was still recovering from the knock out gas that suddenly flooded his cell he knew he had been moved and that a non trivial amount of time had elapsed. He opened his eyes and his vision was blurry, he tried blinking but it didn't help bring clarity. His sense of smell was fully functional however and his nostrils were assaulted by the pungent aroma of antiseptic. Without moving he listened carefully. He was able to discern the faint hum of a ventilation system and after listening more carefully he could hear the sound of fluids being pumped as well at the distinctive drone of computer fans in the background.

It was obvious now; he knew where he had been moved. He was in a lab.

Withholding a groan of pain that tried to escape his lips he tried to slowly and quietly get up, only to discover that he was shackled and chained to the floor like a wild beast, all four of his extremities were bound. His motor skills still not fully recovered he stumbled and fell as the chains pulled back on his still aching body. He fell on the floor with a dull thud and his chains clattered as they tattled that he was now awake.

"Well, well, you have finally awakened." Madam Rouge's disembodied voice taunted the still disabled and trapped Nightwing.

"Where am I?" He groaned as he continued to blink.

"The specifics are not important, and even if you knew them, your friends will not be able to rescue you anyway. You are our prisoner."

Nightwing jerked his head, still trying to shake away the cobwebs that clouded his mind.

"What have you done with the others? And where is my wife? If you've harmed her …"

"Don't make threats you can't make good on, Robin of the Teen Titans. We hold all the cards."

"The name is Nightwing." He growled.

"A rose is a rose by any other name, Robin. And we have dethorned you, you are now harmless, you are no longer a threat, boy blunder. As for your wife, she's here with us. The others? Let's just say that they are somewhere else."

"Starfire!" He called out. There was no response.

Nightwing blinked again and his vision began to improve, as his surroundings were slowly coming into focus. He began to survey his location desperately seeking his wife. What he found was something else, and it made him gasp.

The room was full of giant glass tubes which rose from the floor; there were at least one hundred of them. They were filled with a bluish fluid, but that wasn't what caught his attention. Each tube contained what appeared to be a human fetus. He stared at the tubes in abject horror, finally realizing that the fetuses were all dead. Looking more closely at the dead babies he noticed that there were only half human, their other half was … Tamaranian.

Even in his groggy mental state he quickly understood whose children they were.

"What is this?" He asked in a stunned voice.

It was then that he finally located Starfire in the room. She was wearing shackles similar to the ones she wore when she was a Gordanian prisoner. She also wore a mask that covered her eyes, one that was coated with reflectant on the inside, which rendered her eye beams useless.

"STARFIRE!"

The princess jerked upon hearing his voice and shouted back at him in Tamaranian.

"Star, are you OK?"

She shouted back in her native tongue. Nightwing turned angrily at Rouge, who had a macabre grin on her face.

"What did you do to her? Why can't she speak English?" He snarled at the shape shifter.

"It is but a little experiment, on the workings of the Tamaranian brain, which is so different from our own human minds. Our Master was intrigued by their ability to quickly learn new knowledge via lip contact. The experiment was a success but unfortunately there was a side effect for the Tamaranian. The portion of her brain that is used in these rapid downloads was … damaged. She lost her ability to speak English and cannot relearn it, or anything else for that matter, via lip contact I'm afraid. If she is ever to speak in Shakespeare's language again, she will have to learn the traditional way, not that she will ever get that opportunity."

"But why? Why did you do that to her?"

Monsieur Mallah stepped out of the shadows.

"Isn't it obvious, Nightwing? We want to breed an army of human and Tamaranian hybrids … not unlike your daughter … a 'best of both worlds' combination. We do need to modify their brains so that they will obey us, and that involves rapid downloading of both training and indoctrination."

Nightwing exploded in fury as the state of the situation dawned on him.

"Those are our children! You took our children and maimed their brains so they would be your slaves."

Mallah chuckled.

"You learn quickly Nightwing. Yes, we used your and the princess' genetic material, plus some of our custom DNA strands to create these embryos. Unfortunately there was a flaw in their hybrid genome and they all perished. It is but a minor setback. It was a minor setback as we already have a new design ready to try out."

Nightwing lashed out, stopped as he was still held back by his chains.

"You monsters! Have you no sense of decency?!"

"Decency. Is. A. Flaw. Of. The. Weak." The Brain chimed in as his artificial body rolled into the room. "In. The. End. Evil. Prevails. Because. It. Is. Unencumbered. By. Artificial. Moral. Constructs."

Starfire lashed at her titanium alloy chains, which held firm. She began to scream in her alien tongue.

Nightwing closed his eyes and clenched his teeth in frustration. He then called out to his wife in the little Tamaranian he knew:

"_Koriand'r … no fear … escape … we shall"_

She replied slowly and though he missed part of what she said, he did understand a portion of it:

"_First they will pay for what they have done to us."_

_**-( scene break )-**_

A black portal opened up in front of a house in an upper middle class neighborhood. Mariana Butte wasn't the most posh neighborhood in Metropolis, but its homes were large and stylish and the lawns and landscaping were professionally cared for. The driveways along Lookout Drive were lined with luxury cars and exotic roadsters. There was no doubt about it; this was a neighborhood of privilege.

Victor emerged from the portal, which vanished immediately. As he stood at the curb he gazed upon the house where he grew up as a child. His youth had been a special one, as he was what his classmates at Skyline High School called "a winner".

Victor was one of the top students at Skyline and that was no small feat as there was plenty of competition at the upper middle class school. Unlike other public schools in Metropolis, Skyline was well funded by the ample property tax its base paid on their McMansions. The school had a top of the line teaching staff and funding for advanced programs was never an issue. After all, 99% of Skyline's students attended college after graduation. For a while, when he was Cyborg, Victor was one of the few who didn't attend college. Then again he never graduated from Skyline either.

The other facet of Victor's collegiate life was that he was also a gifted athlete. Not only was he a shoo in for an American Football scholarship at the University of Metropolis, he also had scouts from schools across the country trying to recruit him to play basketball, soccer and baseball as well, also with full ride scholarships. They were wasting their time of course; American Football was his true love.

Life of course has a way of surprising us, of throwing a curveball when we are expecting a fastball. In Victor's case it was the accident.

Accidents. Those were supposed to happen to other people. The ones you saw on the TV news. And more often than not, they brought those tragedies upon themselves.

The truth is that Victor wasn't even supposed to be at STAR Labs that fateful day. He was supposed to be having lunch with the head coach at the university to discuss his role as a freshman on the varsity football team. But he passed that up to watch the transdimensional experiment his father was conducting. It was Nobel Prize material and he wanted to be there when he father made history.

The portal worked flawlessly. What no one had anticipated was that a monster would emerge from it, kill his mother and maim him before his father and the security team could force the creature back into the void from where it came.

And that was how Cyborg was born. He was kept on life support for days until it became clear that he would not be able to recover from his gruesome wounds. That savage alien creature destroyed all his limbs and inflicted life threatening wounds on his torso and head.

After many months the team at STAR Labs created the white and blue prosthetics that later became synonymous with the Teen Titan known simply as Cyborg. He of course found them to be hideous at first. He wasn't the only one to feel that way, as his friends shunned him. The athletic scholarships were history of course as NCAA rules did not permit bionic enhancements.

Victor fell into a state of depression and dropped out of high school. He moped around the house for months, doing nothing beyond playing GameStation and eating junk food. His father, who was still mourning the loss of his wife at first gave him his space. Victor wore nothing but bulky fleece wear to conceal his new bionic body and even wore his hood up when at home.

Eventually Silas began to prod his son into moving forward, insisting that he still had a life to live. Victor lashed out, angrily insisting that he was a monster and that there was nothing left for him to do in his life. Silas kept trying to get Victor to come out of his shell, but it was hopeless. After talking with a counselor, Silas decided that perhaps a change of scenery would do his son some good. He owned a condo in Jump City and hoped that maybe a fresh start would help his son. Little did he know that just 3 months later his son would meet the infamous Robin and three other teenagers on the streets of Jump City and that history would be made.

Victor found himself standing at the front door and realizing that he didn't have his key he rang the doorbell. He heard footsteps and a moment later the door swung open.

"Victor! They found you! Are you OK? You look terrible!"

It was then that Victor realized he had been wearing the same change of clothes for 3 weeks.

"I'm OK dad." He replied as he entered the house.

"What happened?"

Victor sighed.

"I ran into the Brotherhood of Evil."

"What happened to Miranda?"

"I don't know. I found out later that she was working for them. I never saw her again." He replied in a dejected voice.

"I told you she was bad news."

"Yes dad … I know … you don't need to remind me that I was played for a chump … OK?"

Silas backed away and looking contrite he replied.

"I'm just glad you're safe."

Victor snorted in reply.

"I wish I could say the same for Nightwing and Starfire. The Brotherhood still has them."

"What about Dr. Roth and Dr. Logan, are they OK? Why aren't they with you? Where are they?"

"They're fine dad. They're back at Titans Tower East, with everyone else. I came alone for a reason dad."

"You did? Why?"

Victor wandered into the spacious living room in the house and walked up to the grand piano that was the room's centerpiece. A portrait of his mother was on it. He picked it up a looked at it, lingering before putting it back.

"It was a mistake, dad."

"What was mistake? I don't understand."

Victor pinched the fake flesh in his forearm.

"This dad! I thought I could be normal again, but it was a lie. Why do you think I fell for Miranda? I had false hopes dad. I might look normal, but once women figure out who I am really am … I'm still a monster dad. But now I'm a weak monster, I couldn't fight back against the Brotherhood like this. I'm going back to my old tech. As soon as I clean up I'm going to STAR Labs. You don't have to come. I should be ready tomorrow morning."

"Victor! Are you sure about this?"

"Yes dad, I am. Victor Stone died a long time ago. I'm Cyborg now. It's time to stop living a lie."

Silas nodded.

"Very well, I see there is no stopping you. I'll call ahead and drive you there. Now go get ready."

Victor nodded and headed off to his bedroom while Silas picked up the phone and called the lab so they would be ready for them. After he hung up he heard the sound of shower running.

He walked into his private office and closed the door behind him. With no warning a small lid opened on his head and an antenna emerged. His eyes glowed red and within a moment Madam Rouge's voice was heard.

"Report, robot X1-J."

"Tell the master that Victor Stone is here and that he is going to resume his old Cyborg form."

"Do not allow that to happen. Terminate him if necessary. Is there anything else?"

"The Titans are congregated at Titans Tower in Steel City."

"Excellent. Now proceed with your orders. Under no circumstance should Victor Stone once again become Cyborg."

"Yes Master, it will be as you order."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The mood in common room was somber as the fact that Nightwing and Starfire were still missing sunk in, like a creature stuck in quicksand, unable to escape. Raven and Gar had rejoined their teammates upon concluding their make out session and neither gave away any hint of what had transpired in the privacy of their room.

The found out that Kid Flash dashed out to bring something to eat as the pantry in the Tower East was empty and had been that way for years. Within minutes he returned loaded with pizza boxes and assorted cold drinks. The assembled heroes quickly ate the food. Once they were done Gar spoke up.

"Any luck with the tracking device?"

Kid Flash shook his head.

"It's no longer working, sorry."

Gar leaned over the table, clutching his head in his hands.

"How are we ever going to find them? The Brotherhood's always been good at hiding."

Nightstar wrapped her arms around Raven's neck and the sorceress drew her into a hug.

"Don't worry dear, we're going to find your parents, it's just taking longer than we thought."

"Did the monkey man take them away, Aunt Raven?"

"Yes dear, but don't worry, we'll find them."

A blond teenage girl approached them.

"Don't worry Nightstar, if Aunt Raven says they're gonna be OK, then they will be."

"Melvin's right." Timmy added. "Aunt Raven saved us from him a long time ago."

Raven smiled. "With a little help from Bobby."

"The Brotherhood's no match for us if we work together." Teether agreed.

Raven marveled at "her kids" who were now approaching adulthood themselves. Yet another reminder that time continued to slip away.

"We still have to find them first." Gar complained weakly. "We sure could use some help right now."

The old mission console, which was turned back on just minutes earlier, began to chirp. Mystified at who might be calling them, Gar flipped a switch and the giant screen came to life.

"Mento! Are you a sight for sore eyes!"

"We're on our way to Steele City, Beast Boy."

"Changeling." He corrected him.

Rita's smiling face appeared on the screen.

"You'll always be my little boy, Garfield."

Gar sighed. This was going to be an uphill battle. And not just getting them to think of him as an adult.

"I'm not so little anymore, and just so you know, I'm engaged."

Rita's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Garfield, that's wonderful! So tell us, who's the lucky girl?"

Raven stepped into the camera.

"That would be me." She announced in her monotone.

Steve and Rita were unable to hide their disappointment from their faces, even though it was present for only a split second.

"Well … that's … nice!" Rita replied unconvincingly. "We've been wondering if you would ever find that special girl."

Mento forced an approving nod.

"It's about time you settled down with a nice girl. Congratulations … Changeling. Switching gears, how is your team?"

"We rescued everyone but Nightwing and Starfire. Over half the team is injured and recovering in the infirmary. Tower defenses are somewhat out of date, but have been reactivated. Cyborg's in Metropolis and will be back tomorrow."

"Have your team recover, and get a good night's rest. We should be there first thing in the morning. I think I know where the Brotherhood is hiding, but we'll need every Titan to take them down."

"We'll be ready when you arrive."

"See you tomorrow. Doom Patrol out."

The image on the screen was replaced by the Titans logo.

"OK everyone; we have a rescue mission tomorrow. Everyone get some rest. Wally, is there any grub for breakfast?"

"No, but I'll head out right now to get some … uh … does anyone have any money? I'm out of cash."

Raven opened her coin purse and extracted a thick wad of 100 dollar bills, which she handed to the speedster, who after thanking her was gone in a flash.

The remaining Titans exchanged good nights and headed off to their rooms. Raven and Gar were assigned the room where he was healed.

"They sure seemed excited at the news." Raven remarked sarcastically. "I should have known they wouldn't approve."

"Well, I approve, and that's what matters. And if they ever want to see their grandchildren, they'd better be nice to you."

Children? Raven hadn't even thought about that yet. Would she be a good mother? Could she even be a mother? She knew that as a human/demon hybrid there was a good chance she was sterile.

"I can sleep on the couch, Rave." He told her as they entered the room.

"It's OK Gar, we've already been, as you Americans would say, to second base. We can share the bed. But I need to meditate first, so you go on ahead and get some sleep."

Gar agreed with her and after stripping to his boxer shorts he kissed her goodnight and climbed into the bed. Within minutes he was asleep. Raven smiled as he began to snore softly.

_Some things never change. He really is the king of naps._ She thought to herself.

Raven sat down on the floor and after adopting the lotus position she began to levitate, whispering her signature mantra. She was drawn deeper and deeper into her self-hypnotic trance and the room around her began to vanish, replaced by a dark starry sky.

The day had been an emotionally powerful one for her and even though she was thrilled with her personal outcome Nightwing and Starfire remained at large. And to top it all off the brief but erotic make out session she shared with her fiancé had almost sent her over the edge. She needed to bring order to her psyche and that meant but one thing: another trip to Nevermore.

Her years at school were emotionally unchallenging as she didn't form any new relationships or friendships. Sure, during her undergrad days she tried to "fit in" and be a "normal" student. She dressed like her peers and worked on projects with her fellow students, who always welcomed a fine scholar like Raven on their team projects, but it didn't take long for her to read between the lines: they weren't interested in being her friends. It really wasn't surprising. She dressed like them and tried to show interest in their lives. But she still spoke in her monotone and her gray complexion and violet hair only served to remind the others that she was Raven, the former Teen Titan who was known for being mysterious if not outright scary. Sure, they were polite to her and always invited her to their social events, but Raven knew she fit in there like a square peg in a round hole as she was invariably ignored at those social gatherings. She eventually began to decline their socializing offers and kept to herself.

Her life became very predictable once she started grad school and opened Azarathia. She was too busy to have any emotions to deal with and did not once visit Nevermore during the following years as there simply was no need to do so.

Her meditation mirror was still back in her apartment in Jump City, so it took her a little longer to reach her destination. Soon enough the alien like terrain appeared below her and she guided her mental self down towards it. As she approached the ground she saw dozens of her emotions gathered below, milling around impatiently. She also saw a contingent of her virtues gathered as well, and they were congregating around Wisdom and another virtue she did not recognize, but who had an annoyed look on her face.

Raven sighed. If it was already this bad now, what was it going to be like after she and Gar consummated their marriage? Would she blow a fuse and have a mental breakdown?

Raven alighted next to the virtues. The annoyed virtue was not wearing a leotard and instead was attired in a long dress like the one Raven wore at the store. The girl crossed her arms and frowned at her master.

"OK, who are you supposed to be?" Raven asked in an impatient tone.

"Apparently someone you forgot about." She replied. "And why? Just because the green hunk came back you start acting like a hussy. What the hell is wrong with you? We weren't raised that way Raven! You actually told him he could have his way with you!"

"And he didn't!" Raven snarled at her.

"He didn't? He had his big green mittens all over our breasts! You even removed your bra! Just because it feels good doesn't mean it's right, Raven."

"He did it because I invited him, he is my betrothed after all, in case you have forgotten, I have that right by our Azarathian traditions. And just who the Trigon are you anyway?"

The angry virtue shook her head, in disapproval. She glared at Raven

"How quickly we forget Raven. My name is … Chastity."

_**-( scene break )-**_

OK, we have a lot of things happening at once. How will this all come together?

Anyone notice what a dbag BB is in the new show's latest episode? He laughs when his teammates all die and become ghosts.

And now, it's time for the mail bag.

**Guest** - "Currency you say? ... Maybe I can help you by making a whole ton of reviews to help? I can make it look like Im a different person each time.."

_But that would be counterfeit currency, and no one wants r\to be paid with that!_

**Hairul The Nightrage Bea**st -"Wow, Gar's a lucky bastard eh getting to feel Rae's bosom."

_He still restrained himself._

**JOHNXgambit** - "once again bb has shown himself as a prime leader. considering everything that happened on the mission the only downside other than not finding nw and ss he got shot in the ass which led to a makeout session that a good day in my book"

_Funny how things can turn out that way!_

**CBB** - "I really enjoy this story and your writing style is just perfect for the tone of it. Please continue the good work, can't wait to read more!"

_Thanks!_

**Anoymous136** - "At first I was like 'Did I write that?' Then I was like' Nope, grammer's wrong.' Plus always good as usual. I'll try to remember to review everytime but if I forget, please don't kill me. I do have a new job and all."

_Congrats on the job! They're tough to get these days. You don't have to review every time. It's just that the overwhelming majority of readers NEVER review._

**Bluedog197** - "OMGOSH really funny dude and i knew lust and bravery came in somehow but poor night star she sad the brotherhood will pay for that great story thought keep it up."

_Poor Star is brain damaged._

**Glacier** - "Oops, forgot to review for a few chapters there, force. 'Scuse my absence. This is.. Well, better the second time around, to put it simply. I've somehow managed to keep up with this story, and write a history paper, so.. Still, nice story, force, and good luck with the eyelid surgery. I'd look up pitosis, since it has an interesting sounding name, but I do have finals, after all. Anyway, keep up the good work!"

_The surgery went well. I'm staying home from work for a few days, so I figured I'd get another chapter out for the long holiday weekend._

**tron0311** - "Great story so far keep up the good work and keep writing. Can't wait to see how this all ends."

_You're probably wondering if the Fab Five will reunite?_

**bbLover** - "Loved it! wonder how bb will continue to react ... Will the Beast show up?"

_Ever notice how in the show the Beast shows up to protect Raven?_

**Shadico** - "Welp, the BBRae in this story is flippin fantastic. This story is quickly becoming one of my favs. Though my heart does go out to Nightstar :( So sad. Hope they find Rob and Star soon."

_Stay tuned._

**Manga154** - "I feel Raven's powers may become a problem again huh? Great story, and I can't wait for more!"

_Her powers are always an issue. In the comics she has different powers, but has to be mindful of her emotions nonetheless._

**invisibletiara09** - "Please, continue it! I'm reading it religiously and I want to keep reading. And on that las chapter, its so sweet that they're waiting for their honeymoon. Its the first time I read that on a fanfic, hah!"

_They're pretty old fashioned in this fanfic. 28 years old and they're both still virgins._

**RavenOfObsidian** - "Poor Nightstar, she was looking so forward to seeing her parents and then they weren't there! :( But at the same time I'm so happy for Raven and Gar, the ending was just the right amount of fluff and lust to make it perfectly bombastic! :) A my dear! And my sympathies for your surgery, I hope it goes well and you have a fast recovery."

_So far the recovery is on track. Thanks!_

**Dragonkyng** - "Still as awesome as i remember. Please continue"

_Will do._

**TheThoughtsofKarasu** - "Ooohh great chapter. I wonder where Nightwing and Starfire are. Their poor daughter, she's so young. I feel the same way with reviews. And once again, good luck on your surgery! Hope all goes well!"

_Now you know where they are … well, sort of._

**Anna** - "Great story! I just found it and read all 9 chapters. I can't wait for more!"

_I'll keep them coming._

**TW** - "Good rescue mission. I wonder what was going through those Nazi robots heads seeing a Soviet soldier attacking them."

_In the show they really downplayed that Red Star was of Soviet origin._

**Guest** - "I remember reading this story before. I enjoyed it then and I enjoy it now. I look forward to all your updates."

_As I promised, the ending will be different._

**DeeThom** - "Great chapter. Keep it up! And (again) good luck on your surgery as I have no idea what it is and don't know how serious a condition it is."

_Since so many don't know what ptosis is, I'm copying the description from wikipedia:_

_"Ptosis occurs when the muscles that raise the eyelid (levator and superior tarsal muscles) are not strong enough to do so properly. It can affect one eye or both eyes and is more common in the elderly, as muscles in the eyelids may begin to deteriorate."_


	11. The Robot and the Cyborg

"How quickly we forget Raven. My name is Chastity."

Raven tensed up upon hearing those words. I didn't matter that Azarathian law was on her side and that technically she had been chaste in her erotic encounter with her betrothed. It didn't matter that she could have consummated with him and it would have been perfectly legitimate under Azarathian law and morality. There was a facet of Raven's psyche that was unable to come to terms with the pleasurable encounter she shared earlier with her betrothed, no matter how many thousands of years of Azarathian tradition said that it was permissible. The fact that this emoticlone stood before her was a shot across her bow which said that somewhere deep in her mind she believed she crossed the line.

Raven didn't need to be reminded that that the myriad of Ravens surrounding her in their rainbow of capes and hoods were merely abstractions of her psyche. They weren't little Ravens tugging at her, like the angels and devils that appeared in the old Warner Brothers cartoons, little miniature figures that appeared on Porky Pig's shoulders, attempting to lead him down the road of righteousness or perdition. She knew that she was really facing herself, confronting her hang ups, prejudices and instincts as well as her own base desires.

Just because Raven kept her mind in order with a near Vulcan like discipline didn't mean she lacked emotions or desires. She was a woman in her prime after all, and her Trigonic heritage only augmented the carnal desire she felt for her betrothed. The make out session she shared earlier with Gar was the most exquisite experience she ever enjoyed and she found herself feeling unhappy when it was over. Yet there was a part of her mind that felt it was wrong to enjoy it, and Chastity standing before her was proof of that. Raven stared her down before replying.

"I am not unchaste. Gar is my betrothed and will soon be my spouse. Under the laws and traditions of our people I have every right to share my body with him."

Chastity shook her head in disagreement.

"Maybe so Raven, but our beloved is not Azarathian, in case you have forgotten. He was raised in an Earth tradition that has different sexual mores than our own, with rules that are much stricter. If we really honor and respect him then we should wait until we are married to him."

"He didn't seem to mind." Lust chortled in the background. "Once he got into it he seemed rather uninhibited. He can do wonders with his tongue, and that was only on our chest, imagine what he could do ..."

"That is beyond the point. He is a man and is more easily tempted by the moment. What if he later has regrets? What if he has second thoughts about us? We could end up losing him over a brief moment of passion and pleasure. Is it really worth it?" Chastity retorted.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a killjoy? You know there is a difference between celibacy and chastity, don't you?" Brave asked in a harrumph while she crossed her arms. "And we aren't gonna lose Beastie Boo, he already agreed to marry us, so will you stop bellyaching. You make it sound like we molested a child. He is a 28 year old man for Azar's sake!"

Chastity glared at Brave. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not asking Raven to be celibate! Or do you actually believe I'm not looking forward to our honeymoon?"

"Then what's your point?" Lust interjected.

Chastity crossed her arms and frowned. "My point is that he is the one we've been waiting for, one of the 'good guys' that women claim have been hunted to extinction. We've been chaste all these years, not that we haven't had opportunities to engage in casual sex, yet we didn't. So now that he's proposed we've suddenly decided to go slut on him?"

"Get off your high horse, you prude!" Rude belched at her. "We're betrothed, for Azar's sake, we're practically married. We aren't being slutty."

A gray caped emoticlone piped up. "I … I … I think chastity has a point."

Brave frowned at Timid. "You'd be happy if we died virgins."

"No, I wouldn't … but I think Chastity is right. Garfield is very … innocent. He's also a virgin."

"Innocent? Bullshit! He was sucking on our nipples, and he was enjoying it, you saw the boner in his pants!" Lust shouted.

"But he stopped … and apologized … he was blushing, he knew he did something wrong." Timid replied. "And … I know it felt good, but … it also felt wrong … we aren't like that."

"Speak for yourself, prude, some of us want to get laid." Lust admonished her.

"We all want to get laid, and we will, at the right time … listen ladies, it isn't gonna kill us to wait. " Chastity interrupted. "You all think I hate sex. Nothing could be further from the truth … but we need to do this right, or we could end up losing him."

She then turned her focus back to Raven.

"He admires us Raven, that much we know, he sees us in a different light than other girls … don't ask me why, after the way we treated him in the past. And he's already told us he wants to wait, so let's wait, dammit! We'll never find another guy like him, one who will put up with our crap, and we have a lot of that. SO whatever you do, don't blow it, OK?" Chastity rebuked her master before suddenly fading away.

Raven sighed. She was hoping to bring order to her mind, and so far things were only getting worse. She turned to Wisdom and Knowledge.

"I'm at a loss. This … is uncharted territory for me. I want to share myself with him … fully. But what if Chastity is right and it's a mistake; regardless of our traditions … I ... I don't know what to do."

"Our beloved has expressed his desire to wait until our marriage is formalized before consummating." Knowledge announced. "Beyond that, we do not know what he believes to be acceptable behavior prior to the wedding."

"Knowledge is correct. We need to be open and discuss this with him. Only then will we be able to establish what is acceptable erotic interaction before the wedding." Wisdom added.

It was then that Timid and Fear, both donning their gray capes, stepped before Raven. Fear's cape was a dark charcoal gray.

"Is it really a good idea to push the envelope?" Timid asked. "What if he gets the wrong message?"

"It's too risky … it's unacceptable … what if it backfires and we lose him forever?" Fear concluded.

"Life is risk." Wisdom piped up. "There is a very small risk that things could go wrong. But without risk there is no accomplishment, we can't have a real relationship with him unless we are willing to assume some risk, otherwise our relationship will be become stagnant and will die on its own."

"Being sincere with him will open the doors to a richer and more fulfilling relationship." Knowledge added.

"Yeah, go talk to him!" Brave cheered.

A Raven donning a light pink cape stepped forward. Raven recognized her from a previous visit. She was Love.

"Raven, do we not trust our beloved enough to share our body with him? If so, then we should also trust him with our soul. We have nothing to fear Raven, for he is our soul mate."

Raven closed her eyes and nodded her agreement. When she reopened her eyes she was back in their room. To her surprise Gar was awake and was sitting up in the bed.

"Are you OK Rae? You began to shake and were speaking in some strange language."

Raven floated down to the bed and landed next to him.

"It was probably Azarathian."

"Why were you shaking? Are you ill?" He asked in a worried tone.

"No, it's not that. I had to go to Nevermore for a visit."

The changelings face fell and his ears drooped. Raven's heart ached as she had not seen that expression on his face in years.

"You went to Nevermore? Why? It was my fault, wasn't it? I should have kept my hormones in check. Now I've gone and messed you up. I'm such an idiot! I'm so sorry."

"No! That's not it. I was the one who started it … and don't worry Gar … I … I loved it, and I ... I want to do it again."

"Oh… OK … so … why did you go to Nevermore? Did one of your emotions break loose?"

"No … that's not it … I needed to confer with them … you see … I was just afraid that … you might have … misunderstood me … my motives … I was afraid that you might think I was … some kind of … a slut, a loose woman." She stammered.

Gar broke out in laughter.

"Raven … you have to be the most virtuous woman I've ever met … listen Rave … I understand what you told me about Azarathian engagements and I don't judge you for that … but if anyone is owed an apology it's you … I went way beyond merely caressing your chest … I was way out of line."

"Don't apologize … it was wonderful Gar … I just want you to know that you are the most important person in the world to me … and that I respect your beliefs …"

"Rave, trust me, I really don't want to wait … it's just that …"

"You don't have to. I'm yours, in heart, body and soul." She spoke in a hopeful voice.

"I know, and so am I … there is a part of me that's screaming 'go for it', but …"

"It's alright Gar. I understand, really, I do. We'll wait until our honeymoon. But I think we might need to discuss just what we're comfortable with now… I don't want to push the envelope too far. I just don't want to mess things up."

He nodded his understanding.

"It won't be long Rave, I want us to get married right after we rescue Nightwing and Star, before the semester begins. As for what we can do in the meantime, I'm good with where we are right now."

She heaved a sigh of relief.

"But now we better get some sleep, we have some bad guy butt to kick tomorrow." He added.

Raven snuggled up to her fiancé, and for a brief moment all was well in the universe. Happiness filled her soul and her troubles were soon forgotten as he wrapped his arms around her. Of course tomorrow she would join her teammates in what would no doubt be a daring and dangerous rescue mission. That she could handle. The real kicker was that she would have to face her future in-laws as well. Oh well, no one ever said that being a Titan was easy. Especially being the Titan known as Raven.

_**-(scene break )-**_

Victor slammed shut the passenger door on the late model BMW sedan his father kept in the garage, and plugged in his mp3 player into the car's stereo system. He pulled up a playlist he knew his father didn't particularly like and braced himself for the usual complaints about how his music was crude and lacked the sophistication and timelessness that "classic" rock and roll possessed. Much to his surprise his father said nothing as he pulled the expensive German sedan out of the garage and zoomed away from the house.

Mariana Butte was located on Metropolis's west side and STAR Labs was on the other side of town. The Silas impostor guided the car down the residential access streets until it reached the freeway on ramp. Cyborg noticed that his father seemed unusually taciturn as he hadn't uttered a word since they left the house. The silence became uncomfortable and Victor decided to break the ice.

"So what's been new at work dad?"

"Nothing much, just the same old, same old."

"I see." Victor replied.

He had a strange feeling about his father. While his father was a rather unexcitable individual, something seemed odd about him. He felt … distant … almost like a stranger.

"What about my sonic bifurcator project? Did the team make any progress while I was gone?"

"No son, I'm afraid there's been no progress."

Victor tensed up. There was no sonic bifurcator project.

"Dad, remember Dr. Van Vark? I used to date her. Well, after my disaster with Miranda I think I'm gonna take your advice and start dating her again."

"That sounds like a good idea. I've heard through the grapevine that she really likes you. I'm glad you're giving her a second chance."

Victor suddenly became alarmed. There actually was a Dr. Van Vark at STAR Labs. Dr. George Van Vark.

_Who are you?_ He wondered to himself.

"Hey dad, can you stop somewhere? I need to use the toilet, like right now."

"Just hang in there Victor, we'll be at STAR Labs soon enough."

The robot then took an unexpected off ramp, one that led to a bridge that crossed the Metropolis river.

"Uh dad, this isn't the way to STAR Labs."

"It's a detour, there's roadwork on the usual route."

Victor knew that was a lie. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to get out of the car as soon as possible. The bridge was looming ahead and Victor decided that he didn't want to cross it. There was next to no traffic at the late night hour and a quick look at the speedometer showed that the car was travelling in excess of 120 mph. Why was the imposter driving so fast? Then it dawned on him, he was going to drive the car off the bridge into the river below.

Victor then grabbed the steering wheel while he mashed his foot on the brake.

"Victor, what are you doing? We're going to crash!"

"Don't you 'Victor' me! Who are you and what have you done with my father?"

The robot did not respond, but instead struggled to regain control of the car. The robot was stronger than Victor and the car began to careen around on the deserted road. In a calculated move Victor pushed the wheel in the opposite direction, catching the robot by surprised. The car flew off the road and went down a steep embankment, where it rolled over. The airbags deployed and the sounds of metal being crushed and glass breaking resonated in the BMW's cabin. After rolling several times the car stopped and was upside down. Victor's door had popped open and after releasing his seatbelt he scrambled out of the car and ran away as fast as he could.

He turned around to look back and saw the robot emerge from the car. Other than the fact that it was now missing half of Sila's face, exposing it metallic skull underneath, it seemed completely unfazed by the crash as it calmly exited the destroyed vehicle. Victor knew he was in big trouble, which was confirmed when the robot ripped the artificial skin off of its hands, revealing razor sharp claws.

"There is no escape, Victor Stone." It called out in a mechanical voice as all pretense of being Silas Stone was dropped. "If you wish to see your father again, you will surrender to me."

"Like hell I will. You're one of the Brotherhood's robots, aren't you?"

The robot paused as it parsed the question.

"You do not have security permissions to receive an answer to that question. But if you do not surrender I will be forced to destroy you Victor Stone."

"Who says you won't kill me anyway?"

"You do not have security permissions …"

"Shut up!"

The robot's preprogrammed error response was interrupted by a laser blast. The robot began to stumble and was hit square in the head by a second shot, after which it began to smoke and it collapsed, quivering as it motor skills control subsystem was ruined. Victor ran up to the robot's wreckage, still aiming the Slade-bot laser pistol he had at it as it spurted in its robotic voice.

"Watchdog reboot in progress … system error … servo controls are offline … system error … power cells 3,4 and 6 are non functional … system error … gyroscopic balance system is offline …"

Victor kept a few of the old Slade-bot laser pistols as mementos from his old Titan days. Remembering Rouge's threat towards his father he recharged two of the pistols while he showered, concerned that the Brotherhood might come after them. He knew that in an all out Brotherhood assault that the two pistols wouldn't be much help. But in this case they came in perfectly handy.

"Catastrophic system failure, going into failsafe mode." The robot gurgled before shutting down.

Victor began to examine the robot and discovered that its chest panel was removable. Much to his delight he discovered a keyboard and a small text only LCD display that showed a Linux boot sequence and a command line prompt.

"OK Mr. Robot, you're going to reveal your secrets to me, like what happened to my father?"

Victor began to hack away, searching for clues in the robot's file system. After a few minutes he grinned and uttered his trademark 'booyah'. He found the file he was searching for, a log file of all the robots high level activities. He typed 'vi robot_ '.

And received an access denied message. He frowned, then typed 'sudo vi robot_ '.

"It's worth a shot." He mumbled as he pressed enter.

The old visual editor opened the log file. Victor grinned. It was all there.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven was tracing her finger across Gar's chest. He fell asleep almost immediately with his arm wrapped around her and she savored the moment, not ready yet to join him in his slumber. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek when his old Titan communicator chirped. Using her dark energy she retrieved it from the nightstand and saw that it was Victor calling.

"Gar, wake up, its Cyborg."

He mumbled unintelligibly while Raven flipped the communicator open, revealing Victor's face.

"Raven? Where's BB? "

"He's here with me. What's the matter Victor, why are you calling at this hour? Did something happen?"

"The Brotherhood got my dad, and they almost got me too."

Gar sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Are you OK, tin man?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm at STAR Labs right now. I'll cut to the chase. I'm gonna be Cyborg again. I'm having my old tech, actually enhanced versions of my old tech, reinstalled as we speak. The Brotherhood swapped a robot for my dad and they were using it to capture me."

"A robot?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, and a good one too. It fooled me for a while. It's a good thing I caught on or it would have killed me. After I destroyed it I was able to hack into it. I got some intel out of it on the Brotherhood. I'll be back tomorrow morning."

"What kind of intel?" Gar asked.

"I think I know where to look for the Brotherhood."

Gar leaped out of the bed.

"I'm coming over right now Tin Man."

Raven followed him, throwing her cape around her shoulders. "I'm coming, there's no way you're going without me."

Gar smiled at her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

_**-( scene break )-**_

We're still moving forward. We need to revisit with Starfire and Nightwing. Hope you liked the two scenes in this chapter.

And now it's mailbag time!

**Thisguy720** - "Great chapter, I know whats gonna happen but im still on the edge of my seat."

_The next few chapters will have some changes. Rita and Raven are going to be having a "heart to heart" once the Doom Patrol arrives._

**xXimmortalXx** - "Yayyyy! I love Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. There not that popular but I still love em'."

_They aren't comic book canon and unlike Mas y Menos I don't believe they were pulled into the comics from the show._

"Oh and after this fiasco will Rita and Mento actually get to talk to Raven and BB?"

_She's gonna have a chat with Raven._

**gabylokita41** - "Ive been busy and took me a bit to catch up hope the surgery went well and you recover soon :) the story is great i can say im enjoying it more the second time around i just love it :) keep up the good work."

_Thanks, as I promised I'll make small changes to the first part to keep those who have already read it on their toes. Then part 2 will be very different._

**krostovikraven1** - "oh no... i wonder what did they do with Cyborg's dad. hope everything went ok with your surgery. update soon."

_Still no news for Silas Stone this chapter. Sorry._

**Sweetums14** - "This is very interesting and well paced!"

_Thanks you!_

**Maddielove95** - "Poor Star. I hope she regains her speech."

_She is in a tough spot. Imagine if suddenly you couldn't communicate with your spouse._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "O_o now I have bad feeling Nightwing and Starfire will do what Roy did to the Electrocutioner to the BoE during Rise of Arsenal. They'll gonna gut the BoE first with Mallah, then smash The Brain to Smithereens and Star Nova Blasting Mdm Rouge to a Crisp."

_They are pretty pissed off._

**JOHNXgambit** - "raven the only person that can have an argument with herself and not seem crazy, BTW do timmy melvin teether and bobby appear in comics or are they strictly tv"

_I have never seen them in the comics. Some TV show OC's have made it back to the comics: Mas y Menos, Cinderblock and Billy Numerous come to mind._

**Bluedog197** - "what in the world do the brotherhood have no respect and i mean come on and cybrogs dad is really a robot and raven is getting yelled at by her emotions this is too good for words but one word explains it all Startlingly impressive so keep it up"

_Thanks! Nevermore is one of the features in the show that gets used (and abused) a lot in fan fiction._

**titanfan45** - "The Brotherhood of Evil have really outdone theirselves this time. I hope the Titans take them all the way out this time."

_They put the 'E' in Evil. They are (like Terra) much more evil in the comics._

**Anna** - "Great chapter. Can't wait for Doom Patrol and the Titans to rescue Nightwing and Starfire."

_Stay tuned._

DeeThom - "Great chapter and (I won't spoil it for anyone else) but I know what happens with Vic (Cyborg) and his father. It makes me happy just thinking about it. I kinda wish that he would get updates and upgrades for his old tech and not just utilize it as is. I'm not sure if that's your plan but your wording made me think he'd just go back to his old tech without any changes. A little clarification would be nice if it isn't an issue."

_Actually, I clarified that. It is a of course the latest and greatest version of his tech. Except maybe for the Maxx-7._

**Guest** - "another great chapter. I love your stories"

_Thanks!_


	12. Coming Clean

A dark portal opened on the floor, swirling like a maelstrom. The security guard tipped her hat back as she stood up from her desk, staring at the supernatural phenomenon that was happening before her. She tugged at her necktie unconsciously before grabbing her hat by its visor and pulling it back into is proper position. The band around her police style hat had the word 'Security' printed on it.

A dark hemisphere slowly rose out of the portal until it was 8 feet tall, after which it evaporated away, revealing a green man wearing a black and purple outfit and a violet haired woman wearing a black leotard and a blue cape and hood, which she wore over her head, casting a dark shadow over her face, which contrasted sharply with her piercing indigo colored eyes and the Chakra stone on her forehead.

"Dr. Roth, Dr. Logan, I presume? Welcome to STAR Labs. You arrived just as Dr. Stone said you would. Jonathan will escort you to the lab." She gestured to another security guard.

The man's nametag identified him as "J. Hazel" and he nodded politely at the two superheroes.

"This way please." He gestured with his hand.

Gar noticed that Raven's first few steps were mildly wobbly and he offered his arm to her, which she accepted.

"Are you OK? That was a long way to teleport us, over 1500 miles."

She shook her head in mild self disgust.

"I've gone soft. I used to be able to teleport over 3000 miles without even breaking a sweat. I shouldn't be surprised though, I don't even teleport around Jump City anymore, I just drive my car."

"Really? Why?"

"It started in school. My classmates would freak out when a portal would suddenly appear in the classroom and I stepped out of it, so I bought the VW and began to drive to school, which was kind of fun at first. After a while I just stopped teleporting altogether. But don't worry, I'm fine, I just felt light headed for a moment."

It was late at the famous research facility and the sounds of their footsteps echoed in the eerily quiet hallways. They would occasionally cross paths with someone wearing a white lab coat, who invariably ignored them while focusing on a clipboard, datapad or some other item. After a few minutes they reached a large set of double doors, which the guard opened for them.

"Dr. Stone is inside waiting for you."

They entered the large, brightly lit room. The first thing they saw was the remains of the impostor robot, which was disassembled and sprawled over a lab work bench. After briefly inspecting the shattered android and recognizing that it was a doppelganger for Victor's father they shifted their attention to the far side of the room.

They saw Victor resting on what looked like a reclining workbench, which bore a great resemblance to the bed he used to sleep in at Titans Tower. He was surrounded by 4 people dressed in lab coats who were so busy they didn't notice their arrival. His torso was back to his old Titans look, as was his head. He still had no limbs, which Raven found mildly disturbing. She had seen him remove a forearm or part of his leg in the past, but unlike Gar she had never seen him limbless and found the sight to be unsettling. As they silently watched a pair of technicians attached Cyborg's right arm. After running through some quick diagnostics it came online. Cyborg saw his friends and waved at them with his newly attached arm.

"Hey! Ya'll made it! Just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready."

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ watched as the technicians attached the remaining missing limbs and ran the diagnostics. A few minutes later a beaming Cyborg leaped off the table and his feet hit the floor with a metallic and heavy thud.

"Alright! Just like old times! Cyborg is back in the house!" He crowed triumphantly. He dashed over to his friends and scooped them up in a big hug.

"Sorry I left without saying anything guys, I guess I should have told you. And is what Jinx told me true … you guys are engaged?"

"You'd better believe it tin man."

Cyborg turned to Raven.

"So you're gonna marry the green bean? I always figured he'd win Terra back."

Raven gave him one of her darkest glares. Cyborg felt a chilly shiver run down his spine.

"Uh … until she married that other guy … did you guys know he works here? C'mon, I was just joking about Terra, Raven. Anyway, congratulations are in order."

"That's better." Raven replied icily.

"Oh c'mon Raven, don't tell me you're still jealous of our former blond teammate."

Gar cleared his throat.

"Cy, ever heard the saying: When you're in a hole, stop digging?"

The tin man laughed nervously as Raven crossed her arms and she resumed glaring.

"Sorry about that Raven. Look, I really am happy for you guys, I think it's awesome, I mean it!"

Raven harrumphed. "Did I ever tease you when Bumblebee dumped you?"

"No Raven, you didn't, in fact you were very supportive. Look I'm sorry; I guess I was just caught off guard. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, I mean you two were really hitting it off during our last year together. I thought you would go off to the same college … why didn't you?"

"I don't know. I was actually going to ask Raven if we should, but I never did … I really regret that now. We could have married years ago."

Raven shook her head.

"As wonderful as that sounds, I wasn't ready back then. I know it sounds crazy, but I think that I needed my 8 years in the desert to really find out who I am. Also, I seem to recall you saying that we should give Gar his space in college, that he needed to grow."

Cyborg nodded.

"Now that you mention it, I did say that. But I wasn't expecting it to be so long until you guys got back together. So … you're engaged … wow … I really wasn't expecting that."

He then sighed.

"It has been 8 long years, and I pretended to be someone that I'm not all that time, and because of that the Brotherhood of Evil was able to kidnap my dad." He replied somberly.

"You said you know where the Brotherhood is hiding?" Gar asked.

"Sure do, their hideout is on the northern end of Ellesmere Island."

"You mean in northern Canada? That's inside the Arctic Circle. How do you know that Cy?"

"Easy green bean, that robot over there, it was a substitute for my dad. After I disabled it I hacked into its computer. The thing has a GPS log. It came out of Ellesmere."

"That's near the North Pole … I hate the cold."

"Says the guy who lived 8 years in Colorado."

"Colorado isn't that cold, it isn't an arctic climate Cy … so are you sure of this?"

"Positive. According to its built in log it arrived in Metropolis three days ago."

"And that's when your father was kidnapped." Raven surmised.

"You're sharp as ever, Raven."

"Thanks Cyborg, but it's pretty obvious."

"So are you ready to come back with us to the Tower East?" Gar asked.

"Damn straight I am. All my systems are online and I'm ready to kick some bad guy butt."

"Are you ready to take us home Raven?"

"Actually, I'd like something to drink first. Is there any place here I could get some tea?"

"There is a break room down the hall; I can show you where it is …"

"It's OK Cyborg; I can see it from here. You and Gar wait here, I'll be right back."

The two men watched Raven glide away. Once she was out of earshot Cyborg turned to his green friend, with a smirk plastered on his face.

"BB, you sly green dog you, you actually bagged Raven. I'm proud of you, so how did you ask her?"

Gar grinned as he replied.

"Actually, she asked me."

"Whoa! You mean she actually asked you? Damn! How do you get so lucky? I mean look at her! She was cute when we were teens, maybe in a creepy way, but still …"

"I like to think of her as … mysterious." Gar interrupted.

"Whatever, anyway look at her now! First of all … what a rack and her ass, it's totally sweet."

"Dude! We're engaged!"

"C'mon grass stain, you ain't gonna tell me that you aren't looking forward to getting your lucky green hands on her smoking body… damn … when did she get so hot? You are one lucky bastard to be engaged to a woman like her."

"I know I am, but I'm not marrying her because she's hot. Anyway, she doesn't think she's attractive. She thinks she's fat."

"All chicks think they're fat … _oh Gar, does this leotard make my butt look big_?"

"Not funny tin man … I'm in love with her."

"Just like that? You got back together with her after eight years and in just a few weeks you decide to marry her? I don't blame you, she's got the goods, but I have to say grass stain, you move fast."

"Cy … I've been in love with her for a long time. All those years at college I dated tons of girls. But none of them ever really caught my eye. I dated some cuties and I also dated some really smart girls, some were both smart and hot …"

"But?"

"But I never had that feeling when I was dating them."

"Feeling? What are you talking about?"

"I got to know some of them pretty well in school. Lots of projects, late night cram sessions, you went to school, you know what I'm talking about. You spend a lot of time together and you get to know them pretty welI … then you get comfortable with them … but I never had the feeling … I never fell in love with any of them."

"But you stayed in touch with Raven?"

"Yeah, I'd call her on the phone and we'd talk about school. She'd ask how I was doing, I'd tell her I was fine and I'd ask her how she was and she said she was fine too, that she was enjoying school too."

"So how often would you guys talk?"

"When I was an undergrad, about once a week."

"Did you ever tell her you loved her?"

"No … I didn't have the nerve. She never said anything either … but I always looked forward to calling her and when she answered the phone she always sounded happy too, well you know, happy in her Raven way. Grad school was brutal though, sometimes two months would pass between calls."

"So when you moved back to Jump you guys reconnected and finally told each other how you really felt?"

"No, not really … it was before the rescue mission. She said that in case anything bad happened that she wanted me to know that she loved me and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me."

"Wow, that must have caught you off guard."

"Well yeah, but … it made me happy."

Cyborg gave him a quizzical look.

"Sounds like everything is great … so why isn't your face aware of how happy you are?"

The changeling pursed his lips.

"I have a problem, Tin Man. A really big problem."

Cyborg's normally jolly demeanor vanished. "What did you do, grass stain? Does this have something to do with Raven?""

"Yeah … it does, you see … I did something at school that I'm not proud of. I never told Raven this … and I'm feeling really guilty … but I slept with one of my classmates during my undergrad days. It was a stupid one night stand, and I really regret it."

Cyborg rubbed his chin. "So ... you got some action while in college. You know B, that isn't unheard of, for undergrads to get laid. And you and Raven weren't together, so it's not like you were cheating on her. I mean, she wasn't your girlfriend back then."

"But I do feel like I was cheating on her." He replied in an agitate voice. "Because she's the only girl I've ever really cared about … except maybe for Terra."

"Whoa! You didn't sleep with her too ,did you?"

"No way, I didn't but when I had sex with that girl I couldn't help but think about Raven."

"So when did this happen?"

"It was towards the end of our last undergrad semester. There were three classmates that I worked with a lot. One of them just came out of the blue and asked me if I wanted a roll in the hay, since we wouldn't be together anymore."

"And you agreed?"

"Well … yeah … she was one of the hot and smart ones. I won't lie to you, Chrome Dome, I was scared shitless … unlike me she wasn't a virgin, she knew how to make love to a guy, and knew how to push my buttons. I still don't know why she suddenly wanted to have a fling with me; maybe she just wanted to say that they once had sex with a superhero. "

"Or maybe she was waiting for you to make your move, and decided to take matters into her own hands when you didn't."

"Maybe … I don't think so … but there's more. Raven says that under Azarathian tradition, since we're engaged we can sleep together. And for some reason she's really eager to do it."

"But you're putting her off, because you're feeling guilty?"

"Yeah … what am I going to do Cyborg? I'm still gonna feel guilty on our honeymoon."

"Well, I still think you didn't do anything wrong, no commitments were made at the time, you and Raven were just friends back them. And if you want my opinion, telling her is a really bad idea. You don't have anything to gain and a lot to lose. She'll probably feel hurt when you tell her. But if you're feeling this guilty then maybe you should come clean, but before you do that, just remember there could be unexpected consequences."

Raven emerged from the break room holding a disposable cup that was steaming.

"All they had was Lipton tea." She informed them between sips. "The only other choice was coffee."

She took another sip and grimaced at the low quality brew, tossing the paper cup with the unfinished tea into the trash. She looked at her beau and furrowed her brow.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

Garfield bit his lower lip. "There's something I need to tell you, Rave, something important."

"Then tell me."

She could feel the unease and anxiety oozing from him.

"I will, but I'd rather do it in private."

"Is this something I should be worried about?" She asked.

"I … I don't know."

Cyborg gestured nervously down the hallway. "Uh … there's someone I need to see before we head back to the Tower. I'll … uh … be back in a bit."

Without waiting for a reply Cyborg quickly scurried away, leaving the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ alone.

"Gar … something is wrong … very wrong … you feel like you're about to explode. What's the matter? Tell me … you know you can trust me."

He winced upon hearing her words.

"I know I can trust you … the thing is Rave… you can't trust me."

"Gar … what are you talking about?"

He sat down on a nearby chair, his head hanging, unable to make eye contact with her.

"Remember how I told you that nothing happened when I was at school?"

"I don't understand, what do you mean by 'nothing happened'?"

"I told you that I never had a girlfriend when I was at CSU, remember?"

Raven's eyes widened. "You mean you did?"

"Well, not exactly … you see … there were these three classmates. I got along well with them, we did a lot of work together, really good work. They were smart and I really respected them."

"That would be reasonable. As you said, they did good work, I would expect you to collaborate with classmates who are serious about their studies … but that's not what you're trying to tell me, is it?"

"No … it's not."

Raven gave him a worried look. He felt his heart in his throat.

"During finals week on our last semester, well, we didn't have to take any tests, so we had some free time on our hands. So we went out to celebrate our soon to be graduation. And by we, I mean Tina, Alexa, Janey and me. We went to a pub and had a few drinks. We were going our separate ways after commencement. Tina was off to Johns Hopkins to become an MD. Alexa and Janey were leaving to get their PhDs at Columbia and Brown. I of course stayed at CSU. Anyway, after we were done at the pub Alexa asked me to walk her home. Of course, being a former superhero, I agreed. When we got to her apartment she asked me in. She said she wanted to show me something."

"And what was that?" Raven asked.

"Her naked body. She asked me to have sex with her."

Raven's face fell. "She did? What… what did you do?"

He nodded as he bit his lower lip. "I did. I'm sorry Raven, I should have told you, but I was afraid that if you knew that then you wouldn't like me anymore."

"This is ... I … I don't know what to say Gar" For a split second Raven's face betrayed the hurt she was feeling. "Why did you tell me that there was no one …"

"Because I was ashamed of myself. I gave myself to a girl that I didn't love, out of pure carnal desire, when there was a girl I did love … you."

He saw a single tear slide down her face. "Have you been in touch with her since then?" She asked.

"A few emails, but after a couple of months she told me she had a new boyfriend at Columbia and we stopped corresponding. It was empty sex, Raven. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I was lonely and …horny. Alexa is really pretty and we got along great, but you know, as friends. When she offered herself to me there was a voice in the back of my mind that said 'don't do it', but I gave in."

Raven nodded her understanding.

"Gar, why are you telling me this now? You could have buried it. I never would have known."

He gulped. "How can I be your husband if I hid something like that from you? I would be living a lie. And now, I've hurt you and that's the last thing in the world I wanted to do. I'm so sorry, Raven."

"Is that why you won't sleep with me during our engagement?"

"Yeah … pretty obvious huh? … Raven … I'm sorry I cheated on you."

"Gar … we weren't a couple at the time, so you didn't cheat on me. I am disappointed that you would do something like that though and even more disappointed that you thought so little of me that you chose to keep that a secret."

He heaved a weary sigh. "I know … so, the engagement's off, right? I mean, I wouldn't blame you for backing out."

She didn't answer immediately and stared at the floor in front of her.

"I'm not happy about this Gar. I never thought of you as someone who would engage in casual sex. It's so unlike you, you're just not that kind of guy … learning this has shaken me up, it makes me wonder if I really know you."

"It makes me wonder if I know who I am too… Raven, I didn't enjoy it … I know that sounds kind of lame, but it's the truth."

A melancholic sigh escaped her lips. "Gar … why didn't you tell me that you loved me back then?"

"I don't know … I guess I was afraid that you would tell me that we were just friends. Raven, I wish I could forget that night, I wish that it never happened. That has to be the stupidest thing I ever did."

She slowly raised her head and made eye contact with him. "Gar, do you love me, do you really love me?"

"I do, Rave, you're the only girl I ever really loved."

"Then why won't you make love with me?"

"Because … I don't know … because I don't deserve you?"

"Isn't that for me to decide?"

Hope filled his eyes. "So … you're saying that …"

"You had a fling four years ago, but … I think I also bear some of the blame for it"

"What!? No way! Raven, I can't blame this pn anyone but myself. I own this, not you."

"I know you won't blame me … but think about it Gar, had I not been so emotionally constipated back then I might have told you that I loved you … and your one night stand would never have happened. You weren't my boyfriend back then and yet you're consumed with guilt, all because we couldn't be honest with each other … I really wish that your first time would have been with me, it does hurt knowing that your first time was with her instead."

He stared silently at the floor.

"But what really hurts is that you didn't trust me and kept this a secret from me … but it isn't a show stopper, that is unless you have more secrets to confess. Do you?"

He shook his head vigorously. "No … that's it, there's nothing else."

Raven gave him a small smile. "So, how are you planning on making this up to me?"

"You mean … we're still engaged?"

"Yes, we are."

A huge grin appeared on his face, which was now radiant.

"I'll do anything you ask, Rave, anything."

She leaned forward and kissed him. "I think you know what I want."

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I do."

The two lovers exchanged a reconciliatory hug, which was punctuated with passionate kisses. Cyborg had ducked into the break room and had been eavesdropping on them with his bionic ear. A sigh of relief escaped from his lips.

"You don't know how lucky you are, green bean."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Bumblebee groaned as she sat up in her med station. The pain killers Jinx gave her earlier had already worn off and she was feeling the pain in her clipped wings again. She already decided to not take any more pills as she hated the groggy feeling they gave her. It would take 3 to 4 weeks for her wings to grow back. She felt both angry and humiliated at her treatment at the Brotherhood's hands, the clipping of her wings was done for only one reason: to make her feel powerless and vulnerable. To invade and violate her any more than that they would have needed to rape her, and she thanked fate that it didn't come to that. She overheard earlier that another rescue team was being assembled and there was nothing she wanted more than to join them, but knew she would have to sit this one out, which only contributed to her already foul mood.

She closed her eyes, stewing in her own juices, feeling both miserable and sorry for herself. Her dark moment was interrupted when she heard the infirmary's door slide open. She didn't open her eyes as she didn't feel like socializing and to be honest she didn't give damn who it was. That is until she recognized the unmistakable sound of the footsteps. Years had passed since she last heard them, and at the same time it only seemed like it was yesterday.

"Sparky?" She called out as she opened her eyes and twisted around, try to get a look so that she could visually confirm what her ears were telling her.

"Hey Karen, I heard the news. I'm sorry."

Bumblebee made eye contact with him, before looking away, unable to hide her shame. The burning shame of having been unable to defend herself, of being captured so easily. But worse of all how she had broken down and pleaded to not have her wings cut. And they only did it to humiliate her, to show her who was in control, that they had power over her. It was a memory she knew she would never completely leave behind her. Her wings would grow back but in her mind she knew she would never be whole again, the violation was seared into her soul as if a branding iron had been used.

"It's OK Sparky, they'll grow back."

Cyborg pulled up a chair and sat down next to her bed. A faint gasp escaped her lips when she saw that he was back to his old look.

"I kind of know how you feel Karen."

Bumblebee bowed her head as shame consumed her. Victor's loss was far worse than her own. His arms and legs would never grow back and he would have to live with his cybernetic prosthetics for the rest of his life. She saw him a few times after he switched to the "natural" look and while he looked normal she knew that he would never ever feel normal again.

"No, you don't. You suffered far more than I did." She replied in a hollow voice. "It's actually the other way around. I know how you feel, but it's only temporary for me … Sparky … why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see if you're OK."

She shook her head.

"Why do you even care? Don't tell me you already forgot that I dumped you for another guy?"

He gave her a sad smile.

"Nah, I'll never forget that. But don't worry about it; I forgave you a long time ago."

Karen sighed.

"Well, at least one of us has, because I haven't forgiven myself. I know this is 9 years too late Victor, but … I'm sorry. I cheated on you and then I dumped you. And you know what? Raymond and I broke up three months later. He dumped me for some airhead. I guess that's karma for you, huh? And then my team abandoned me when they found out what actually happened."

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head while he searched in vain for the right thing to say.

"Well, my life hasn't been all that great either. I guess the real world isn't all neat and tidy like it is on the TV shows."

Karen chuckled halfheartedly.

"Did you ever see that cartoon show they made about us? Wouldn't life be nice if we could square everything away and solve all our problems by the end of a 23 minute episode?"

"Are you kidding? I have the whole series on DVD! But you're right, if only things could be that easy. In the real world Nightwing and Star are still missing, and now they kidnapped my old man as well."

"Oh Sparky! I'm so sorry!" She replied in a shocked voice.

"Don't worry, we'll rescue them. BB's already putting a plan together."

Karen marveled at the news.

"Changeling is in charge? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I've heard he's really changed."

"And he's gonna marry Raven."

Karen nodded approvingly.

"You know, I always believed they belonged together. I'm just surprised they didn't get to it a long time ago. They were inseparable during the Titan's final year."

Cyborg laughed.

"They insisted back then that they weren't a couple, that they were just friends."

Karen looked away, seemingly lost in thought. After a long moment she looked back at him.

"You know, I now think that's the right way to start, you know, as close friends. Sure, love at first sight sounds more romantic, but, I think that only works on TV shows."

Cyborg snorted.

"Tell me about it. You how they captured me? They had some chick pretend she was in love with me. I fell for it like a chump. I was head over heels for her, but I had no idea of who she was. We weren't friends. The worst thing of all is that I slept with her once. Damn, I wish I could take that back."

"Hey Sparky."

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to be my friend again?"

"I thought we already were friends."

She shook her head.

"No, we're not. I betrayed you for a jerk who only wanted to sleep with me. And once he added me to his collection of conquests, he dumped me like yesterday's trash. I guess I got what I deserved."

"I'm sorry to hear that … so, a fresh start then?" He asked.

She nodded her head.

"From the beginning. I just hope I can earn your trust back. You know what they say about trust: hard to earn, easy to lose."

"OK then, I want to be your friend again." He replied.

The two shared a hug which was interrupted by the sound of applause. They released each other to find that all the other patients in the infirmary were beaming while they continued to applaud.

"Aw man, what do you have to do to get some privacy around here?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Alright, another chapter, I hope you liked it. A little spoiler: BB and Raven haven't heard the last of Alexa.

And by the way, feel free to wish me a happy birthday!

**gabylokita41** - "I still remember this part love it love it love it its pretty cool that ur giving it some changes to the beginning makes it more interesting this one has been one of my fav stories :) ur a great writer"

_Thanks. I'm starting to introduce the bigger changes now. So if something seems unfamiliar, now you know why._

**Artemys Ichihara** - "Hmm, hi! First of all, great story. Really! It has been some time since I've read something as good as this fanfiction here on in a fandom that I partake in ) The plot is interesting, the characters are greatly represented and you write well ) But the thing that really got me and kinda suprised me was... Brazil. Really. As a brazilian i'd NEVER expect someone talking about my country on fanfics, except for us brazilians - sometimes not even that. And, really! You did it well, too. Srsly. I started squealing like a hormonated fangirl when I saw it. Thank you, haha. Guess it's this. Ah, yeah, if I was Rae I'd listen to Lust a little more. But I'm not Rae, haha. *Weasel*Kisses ;"

_Thanks! I always get excited to hear from international readers, as I myself have lived outside the United States._

**SilentGoddest** - "This is a VERY good story"

_Thank you! Sometimes I doubt myself._

**Glacier** - "Sudo. Kinda the most useful linux command ever. /149/ Anyway, nice chapter, very well written, and the nevermore trip especially so. Nevermore's one of my favorite concepts about teen titans, and if people write it well (like you do), it adds a great element of self discovery to the story. and yes, it does get abused a lot."

_One of these days I'm gonna buy myself one of those "sudo make me a sandwich" T shirts. Sudo also works on Solaris._

**JOHNXgambit** - "still as awesome as the last time."

_There was a big change in this chapter. I hope you liked it._

**Bluedog197** - "For one some of ravens emotions are right and poor cyborg being thrown off a bridge great story keep going"

_Thanks_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Well time for Cy to get his upgrade. Get ready to whack the BoE!"

_You know he wants to do it._

**Death Stroke The Kid** - "This may seem like an odd question but where is Slade right now? Is he free or captured cause seeing him again would be f**kin awesome just sayin. Also this story is amazing keep it up and don't give up, too many writers are just giving up on such good stories hope you wont do the same :)"

_Slade's doing what he always does: he's lurking in the shadows while planning his next move._

**kawaiitas** - "Hi! I've read this story before and i liked it back then, I don't remember it too well but I can see a little changes here and there. I am really enjoying it and I hope you are planing on continuing with it. I'm excited to read some more, thank you !"

_There are changes, made just to confuse you even more. :-)_

**Anoymous136** - "Riveting as always"

_Thanks, sometimes I worry that my stories are too predictable._

**Guest** - "another great chapter. I can't wait for the doom patrols visit and Rita's chat with Raven. I sorta remember what happens next but can't wait to read it again."

_Thanks._

**Anna** - "I loved the scene with Raven and Gar. Can't wait for them to meet up with Cyborg."

_They hit a speed bump today. But they'll be OK._

**Sweetums14** - "Oh yeah! A great chapter! I'm constantly checking my email to get an update!"

_I try to not keep you waiting too long._

**DeeThom** - "My apologies. I must've missed it. But that's exciting. Seems like we're jumping back into the fire with the Brotherhood again. But why not the Maxx-7? That sounds awesome!"

_Well, we all remember what happened last time with the Maxx-7_

**titanfan45** - "Cyborg did very well for himself in this chapter. Someone less observant would have gotten themselves killed."

_Cyborg was kind of portrayed in a less than flattering way in the show at times. Poor Khary Peyton didn't have a lot to work with and got stuck saying 'booyah' a few times too many._

**Shadico** - "The Nevermore interaction feels great to me. You've explained it and showcased it better than most people ever have so far. I'm happy for Rae that Gar is fine where they're at right now hah. Totally can't wait to see more of this story unfold. The in-law interaction is sure to be epic. Cannot wait to see what Rita has to say to Rae and what Mento has to say to Gar, haha. I'm also over the moon that you included Melvin/Timmy/Teether in this. I always thought it was an injustice that the last you see of them is Gar giving them animal rides in the tower in the comic. Can't wait to see more of them and how they've fleshed out as people (if they're a part of this story other than a mention, that is). Also, as if the event with the Silas Bot was some kind of blindfold, I think I finally remember the old story. Not very clearly, but the general outline and my reactions at the end. And dear Azar was it one of my favorites. I'm ecstatic over getting to read this rewrite, but i'm wondering... If this story is going to be changed drastically after chapter 20, would you consider posting the old version after this one is completed, or adding on the chapters as a kind of alternate ending? I really did love the old story and would love to read the two side by side after this one is wrapped up. Either way, great writing as usual, hope the recovery from your op is fast and easy!"

_Thanks. I do like using Nevermore, but I do try to pace myself in its use, always reminding myself that the emoticlones are not "little Ravens" running around in her head, but acual facets of her mind._

**Thisguy720** - "Oh Raven always battling emotions its courageous. Always fighting herself. Good old reliable cyborg, always thinking"

_Sometimes I do feel sorry for Raven, she is so messed up._

**krostovikraven1** - "i'm glad Victor got away unscathed. lucky him it wasn't Madam Rouge impersonating his father. I love Beast Boy, he's so sweet. BTW, Nevermore is great. the possibilities are endless."

_BB is the most underrated character in the show. He has a heart of gold. And I really hate it when other writers portray him as a dim witted fool or a chump._


	13. The Mother in Law

The bedroom was calm and tranquil as the only sound to be heard was that of two people snoring softly. A trail of garments led up to the large bed with the hooded headboard. Raven's blue boots had been the first to come off, kicked off her feet just as she passed through the door. Garfield's boots were also abandoned on the floor, next to his Doom Patrol pants. Next came her cape and leotard followed by his shirt. At the foot of the bed were his shirt, her bra and panties and finally his boxers.

The bedcovers had been hastily cast aside and the two lovers slept under a single bed sheet, their naked bodies curled together like two spoons in a drawer, he sleeping behind her with his palm resting on one of her supple breasts.

Some say that you never forget the first time you make love with someone, and not necessarily because it's a great experience, but just the opposite. It also didn't help that they were neophytes. Raven of course was completely inexperienced and Gar's one and only experience had been over four years before. They certainly didn't perform the way couples did in the movies. The words "oops" and "sorry" were uttered more than once during their first ever encounter. Raven's G spot was nowhere to be found and she didn't climax nor had an orgasm and her mate was unable to control himself and climaxed early. By all conventional accounts their first lovemaking session was an unmitigated disaster.

But somehow they either didn't know or care. The next morning Gar joked that he had reverted to virgin status during his grad school years as there was no other way to explain his utter incompetence in the bedroom that night. That explanation suited Raven just fine and even though she didn't scream his name in sexual ecstasy that night she fell asleep in his loving arms with a smile on her face. It didn't matter to her that their lovemaking was less than mediocre that night, she knew that it would improve with time. All that mattered to her now was the he was hers and hers alone.

She had much to smile about. Life was finally good for her and it would get even better. It was more than any half demoness could ever hope for.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The images burned in his mind, tormenting him with their callousness. Hundreds of babies floating lifelessly in their artificial wombs, destined to never be. It was the collective product of indescribably brilliant yet evil and uncaring minds.

The Brotherhood of Evil wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last group of mad criminals who would try to take over the world. It had happened before and it would happen again. These groups always claimed that their goal was to improve the world, either by culling the weak, or by removing inefficiencies. Some even believed they were ushering in a new era of enlightenment, one that required the destruction of the current order.

One concept evil doers always agreed on was that the end always justified the means. Whether it be genocide in concentration camps or the destruction of entire cities and their civilian populations , as long as the goal was met anything could be justified as a tool with which to achieve it.

Nightwing examined his shackles for the umpteenth time, and once again could not find a way to release them. The Brotherhood tossed him and Starfire into a cell. She remained restricted by her bonds and the reflective blindfold continued to cover her eyes. She appeared to be asleep as she did not stir. Her chains, like his, provided them with some mobility, not that there was anything to do or see in the cell. Unlike the previous prison there wasn't even a toilet or a sink, just 4 gray walls.

Nightwing leaned back against the wall and sighed. He promised her they would escape, and he was determined to make good on the promise.

The cell's silence was broken when the door was unlocked and opened. It was time for the daily ritual: 5 five robots would escort them, one at a time, to a restroom where they could relieve themselves and wash up. After that was completed they would be given their single meal of the day. Since Starfire's hands were completely encased and was unable to use them she had to eat her meal like a dog as he could not get close enough to her to feed her himself.

After the door opened the first thing he noticed was that there was only a single robot this time. It had a laser rifle slung over its soldier.

"It is time for the restroom." The droid announced in its mechanical voice as it unlocked the chains that tied Nightwing to the wall. His hands and feet remained shackled together, restricting his movements.

"Follow me." The robot ordered him, just as it did every day.

One thing Nightwing had been trained to do was take advantage of any tactical change that presented itself. It didn't matter if he was weak and beaten up, any change was an opportunity, and for some reason there was only a single robot today.

"_There is only one_." He whispered in Tamaranian.

"_I am ready, husband_." A now awake Starfire who had been pretending to sleep replied.

Nightwing lurched forward and shoved the robot towards Starfire, who was levitating. With her two tightly shackled legs she kicked the android in the waist, severing it in half, its wreckage landing at Dick's feet. He quickly retrieved the electronic key and undid his shackles. He then ran to Starfire's side and undid hers. The last thing he removed was the blindfold. His eyes met her green orbs which were glowing.

They embraced each other and kissed, the pain of their separation soothed and washed away. Their revelry was short lived as the sound of more robots running echoed in the hallway outside.

"_Escape … weak … cannot fight … return … with help_." He struggled in Tamaranian.

"_Agreed_." She replied.

They dashed out of their cell only to find themselves confronted by a platoon of robots. Starfire pelted them with a barrage of star bolts, but due to an extended lack of exposure to sunlight she soon found herself drained and the star bolts quickly ended.

Nightwing was unarmed as his utility belt had been confiscated weeks ago. Dodging enemy fire he somersaulted towards a pair of destroyed androids and snatched their rifles in a swift and fluid motion, tossing one towards Starfire as he flipped through the air.

Using the rifles they fended off the remaining robots as they slowly retreated, trying to decipher how to escape from the prison level. Starfire located a stairwell and they burst through the heavy door. Starfire ripped the steel staircase railing from its moorings and used it to jam the door. As they fled up the stairs they could hear the robots first pounding on the door, which was followed by laser rifle shots. The titanium door held firm.

Emerging at the top level they were greeted by six robots, which they quickly dispatched. They quickly scanned the hallway and Dick decided to try a pair of double doors at the end of the hall. The doors were unlocked and when opened revealed an arctic wasteland. A fierce blizzard was blowing and without stepping outside Nightwing could tell that the temperature outside was at least 40 below zero and that in his spandex hero costume he wouldn't survive very long in the inhospitable environment.

Starfire saw a nearby steel case cabinet. It was locked but she was easily able to rip it open. Much to her delight it contained parkas and other garments they could wear outside. They quickly dressed and as soon as they were ready the princess picked her mate up bridal style and took to the air, quickly flying away.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven and Gar sat down to a late breakfast which Raven actually prepared. After living 8 years on her own she had no choice but to learn how to cook. She prepared a vegetarian sensitive meal that consisted of oatmeal, sliced cantaloupe, toast, orange juice and a couple of soft boiled eggs for herself.

Cyborg and Nightstar were already seated at the table and were enjoying one of Victor's traditional carnivore breakfasts.

"Raven, want some bacon? I made plenty to spare."

"Back off tin man! Stop trying to corrupt my fiancée with your cannibalistic ways." Gar reprimanded him in jest.

"Thanks Victor, but I'm fine." Raven replied politely.

Cyborg turned to the young princess.

"See what happens when you fall in love with a vegetarian? You become one!"

"That's not true, I am having two eggs."

Cyborg tsk tsk'd Raven before addressing Nightstar.

"Their loss and more for us, right little lady?"

Nightstar giggled as she shoved another piece of bacon into her mouth. Cyborg then turned back to the changeling.

"So when does the Doom Patrol arrive?"

"They're due any minute, Mento said …"

Gar was interrupted by a commotion that poured into the common room. The four diners looked up to see what it was and all they saw was a throng of Titans milling around an unseen point of interest. The crowd approached the table and parted, revealing its secret core.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Nightstar shrieked as she became airborne and shot like a missile towards her parents. She landed in her mother's arms and the two exchanged happy hugs. Gar ran up to Nightwing and also gave him a hug, Raven and Cyborg also did the same.

"Mommy! Where did you go? Why didn't you come back?"

"_I am sorry my dear, but you must speak to me in Tamaranian."_

Cyborg still remembered the Tamaranian he learned back when he temporarily upgraded to the Maxx-7 processor.

"_Star? Why can't you speak English?"_

"The Brotherhood of Evil did something to her brain. She can't speak English or Japanese anymore and she can't relearn through lip contact." Nightwing informed the assembled Titans.

"What did they do to her?" Raven asked.

"They were experimenting on the part of her brain that handles the lip contact knowledge transfer. They said that they accidentally harmed her brain, and that the damage is permanent. Raven, can you help her?"

Raven placed her fingertips on Starfire's temples, assessing the damage.

"I'll do my best."

Raven locked eyes with Starfire and smiled.

"Koriand'r"

The Princess smiled back and after handing her daughter to Nightwing she wrapped wrapped her arms around her gray friend. The sorceress returned the hug.

"Ra-ven" The princess enunciated carefully, as if she had never said the name before.

"Tell her that I'll try to heal her."

Cyborg nodded and translated. Kory listened and replied.

"She says she's ready."

Raven once placed her hands on the orange woman's temples and her blue light appeared, engulfing Starfire's head. Raven closed her eyes and focused intensely while Starfire remained still. After a few minutes Raven released her. Her eyes betrayed her lack of success.

"I was able to restore a portion of her memory, but I couldn't repair the transfer synapses, they were completely destroyed. I'm sorry."

"Thank you … friend … I am … grateful." Starfire replied in halting English. "I will …"

She rattled off a word in Tamaranian.

"Now" Cyborg Translated.

"Now have to …"

She sighed in exasperation and finished her sentence in Tamaranian.

"Learn the way all of you do … slowly … I feel like an invalid, a cripple." Cyborg translated.

"Don't worry mommy, I'll teach you."

Starfire hugged her daughter.

"I … missed you … my … child."

Gar stepped up next to Raven and wrapped an arm around her neck, she replied by resting her head on his shoulder, which did not go unnoticed by either of the Graysons.

"Are you guys dating again?" Nightwing asked.

"Aunt Raven and Uncle Gar are gonna get married."

"Married?" Nightwing replied.

Starfire apparently understood the statement as she lunged forward and drew Raven and Gar into a hug.

"Glorious … so happy … I love you."

As soon as he could breathe again Gar replied. "We love you too, Star."

"So when is this wedding?" A new voice in the assembled crowd asked.

Gar immediately recognized the voice.

"Negative man!"

"Gar, you know you can call me Larry, and congratulations to both of you. Steve and Rita might be jerks about your news but I think it's great and so does Cliff."

"Larry, that's not true. We were just taken by surprise by their news. We just never imagined that they would hit it off …"

"C'mon Mento, we all knew they were dating during their last year as Titans. There were pictures in Superhero magazine."

"That was a long time ago Cliff. Steve and I were merely surprised." Rita added.

Gar walked up to his first team and his former foster parents. He hadn't seen them in almost a decade. Rita stepped forward to hug him.

"I'm sorry we couldn't make it to your graduation, Garfield. But we will attend your wedding."

"It's OK, I understand. And thanks for accepting our decision. But first we have a mission to complete."

"Yes, the Brotherhood of Evil …" Mento began.

"They're creating an army of Human-Tamaranian hybrids." Nightwing interrupted.

"Whoa! Are you sure?" Gar asked.

"I saw them with my own eyes. The first batch were defective and perished while still in-vitro. Mallah said they were going to try again."

"Were they your …" Cyborg began to ask.

"Yes, they used Star's and my DNA to create them, plus some external DNA of unknown origin."

"Where is this lab?" Raven asked.

"Ellesmere Island, in Northern Canada." Dick replied.

Cyborg nodded.

"We traced one of their droids back to the same place. We were preparing a mission to rescue you guys. Now we can just go and kick some butt."

"The Brotherhood's base is not in Ellesmere Island. It's across the Arctic sea in Siberia." Mento interjected.

"It's not? Excuse me, but we were there!" Nightwing howled. "We weren't in Siberia!"

"You are correct in that you were being held in Canada. But that is not the Brotherhood's base."

"Then what is it?"

"It's a trap Nightwing." Gar replied morosely.

"A trap? What are you talking about Gar?" Raven asked.

"Let me guess, they made a mistake and you took advantage of it and easily escaped." Gar asked.

"I'd hardly call that escape 'easy'."

"Don't you think your escape was awfully convenient?"

Nightwing became indignant.

"What would you know? While you've been living it up in Fort Collins playing with your animals some of us have been busy fighting crime."

"He's got a point B, and like I already said, I traced that robot back to the same place."

"That was part of their plan." Gar retorted. "Nightwing, was there any evidence that Cy's dad was there?"

"I didn't see him, but doesn't mean he's not there."

Gar crossed his arms and sighed. They weren't going to like this.

"I'm with Mento on this one. No one knows the Brotherhood as well as the Doom Patrol."

Mento stepped back into the conversation.

"Garfield is right. The Ellesmere Island base was abandoned by them years ago. I agree that it's probably a trap. I'm also certain that those fetuses you saw were fake as was the GPS log Cyborg found in his father's replacement robot. They are trying to draw the entire Titans extended family there."

"Nightwing, did you see any of the Brotherhood when you escaped, or did you just see droids?" Gar asked.

"Just droids, but that doesn't mean they weren't there."

"I'm certain they aren't there. It's not their style to hide" Gar replied. "But I'll bet there's either a nuke or some other trap waiting for us there. There's no doubt about it, they let you escape. Mento is probably right, those fetuses are fakes and they told you they were your kids to cloud your judgment."

"You're full of crap Gar, you think just because you're a PhD and a Doctor that you now know everything." Nightwing protested.

Cyborg crossed his arms and frowned at his green friend. "I can't believe you're taking their side."

Gar glared back at his friend.

"This isn't about taking sides! It's about doing what's right!"

He turned to face the assembled team of heroes. Most had recovered from their mistreatment at the Brotherhood's hands and were ready to storm the enemy's base, wherever it was. Gar looked upon their faces. Like him, many had gone into retirement while the others pursued solo careers as superheroes. What was self evident is that they needed a leader, someone to guide them, someone to help restore their confidence not only in themselves, but also in their cause.

"We're going to Siberia." Gar announced.

"Say what? Have you lost your mind Green Bean?" Cyborg screamed.

Nightwing was bristling.

"Garfield! I'm the leader of this team!"

Changeling turned around and stood his ground against the much larger and more muscular Nightwing.

"No, you're not. You dissolved the Titans so you could go be Batman light. This is my team; I brought the Titans back together, not you."

"What a load! You were always the team clown; a joke, no one is going to take you seriously or follow you." Nightwing howled. "Who's with me?"

Raven stepped forward and walked up to Nightwing, who grinned triumphantly. If he could win Raven away from Changeling, everyone else would follow suit.

"I'm sorry Nightwing, but I'm with Gar, and not because he's my fiancé."

Raven walked to Gar's side and was soon joined by every other Titan, except for Cyborg, who looked troubled.

"I'm sorry B, but I'm with Nightwing on this one."

"You're making a mistake tin man. Please join us, we need you."

Nightwing gave Gar one last glare.

"Why are you being so stubborn, Nightwing?" Raven asked.

Nightwing turned and began to walk away.

"There's nothing to discuss. Star, Cy let's go."

Starfire did not budge.

"No husband … friend Garfield … he is correct … we should … be his team." She replied as she had to search for the words to use.

"What? You're on his side now?"

The princess cupped her husband's face with her palm. The look on her face was sad, as it what evident that taking Gar's side was a source of discomfort for her.

"I am always … loyal to you … but it … is a mistake … to go … back."

Nightwing drew her into a hug.

"Please beloved … we must … stay … friends."

Dick sighed.

"This goes against my better judgment, but we will join your team, but on one condition."

"What?"

"That the Doom Patrol also accepts your leadership in this mission."

Everyone turned to Mento, awaiting his response.

"The Doom Patrol is at your command Garfield."

The assembled heroes cheered their approval, while Raven took his hand and squeezed it. It was a moment of triumph for Gar; he stood up to Nightwing and won. Now he had the full support of the extended Titans team. While his decision was based on fact and experience he knew that there was a remote chance that he was wrong. But it was too late to worry about that, instead he turned to the assembled team.

"Who are the Titans!?" He shouted.

"We are!" They replied in unison.

"Whose butt are we gonna kick!?"

"The Brotherhood of Evil's butt!"

"Damn right we are! Everyone take 30 minutes to rest, we'll meet here to review our strategy! Dismissed!"

The assembly dispersed and the 5 original Titans gathered together with the Doom Patrol.

"So what's your plan?" Nightwing asked.

"We need a distraction. We need to fool the Brotherhood, to trick them into believing that we fell for their trap."

"And how do we do that?"

Gar smiled and turned to Cyborg.

"Tin man, I'll need your talents for this one."

"What do you have in mind, grass stain?"

"Come with me, I'll show you."

_**-( scene break )-**_

As Cyborg and Garfield retreated to discuss the Changeling's plans, Rita approached Raven.

"We need to talk, young lady."

Raven looked up at the much taller woman and frowned. She knew that this conversation was overdue, though that didn't make the prospect of having a heart to heart with her future mother-in-law seem any less unpleasant.

Rita Farr was an attractive woman; in fact she was quite the looker. Raven wasn't unfamiliar with her past, she knew that Rita had once been a up and coming Hollywood starlet, one whose budding career was shot down by the freakish accident that had turned her into Elastigirl. Raven would never admit it to anyone, but she was intimidated by Rita's stunning good looks, which was really more of a reflection of her own lack of self esteem.

"Agreed, it's long overdue." Raven concurred.

"I'd rather talk in private."

"We can go to my room."

The two women walked silently to Raven's spooky abode and entered. Rita's demeanor did not betray any unease and the empath felt none. After the door slid shut she walked over to one of Raven's bookcases and picked up a small figurine, which like most of Raven's knick knacks was macabre looking. She examined it with a bored look on her face before putting it back and turning to face Raven. Her expression did not change as she addressed the sorceress.

"So, you want to marry my son … might I ask why?"

Raven frowned. "Why does any girl want to get married?"

Rita smirked at the small gray girl who stood before her.

"Women get married for many reasons: money, because they want to have a family, because they're lonely …"

"Aren't you forgetting the most important reason?"

"Ah yes … love … let me guess, this is why you wish to marry my son, right?"

"I am financially independent, I probably can't have children and I'm perfectly used to being alone … so yes, I want to marry your son because I love him."

Rita crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"I seem to recall that you couldn't stand the sight of him. I would almost go as far as saying that you hated him."

"That's not true. Yes, when he was younger he was very immature and even annoying. I won't deny that he knew how to get on my nerves; in fact it almost seemed like a gift he had. But I have never hated him."

"What about Tokyo? You slapped him on camera and for no good reason."

Raven shrunk upon hearing the accusation. "I wasn't in a good place at the time and it took it out on him. It's not something I'm proud of."

Rita refocused her gaze upon her. "So tell me Raven, what will happen the next time your demonic nature gets the best of you? Will you once again do something to him that you're not proud of?"

"I have my dark side under control."

"Do you, demoness?"

Raven gave Rita a dark glare. "So … the real reason finally comes out. You don't approve of me because of my background."

"Can you blame me? Every mother wants her son to marry a nice girl."

Raven balled her fists. Rita noticed a slight tremble in her jaw, which quickly vanished.

"I. Am. A. Nice. Girl."

"I'm sure you are." Rita's voice dripped in sarcasm.

Raven summoned her will and fully regained her composure. Her hands relaxed.

"I could just as easily make the same judgment about you."

"What are you talking about?" Rita hissed.

"You used to be a Hollywood actress … they aren't exactly known for their virtuous and chaste behavior."

Rita's eyes flared. Raven could feel the indignation swelling in the woman's chest; she had most definitely hit a nerve.

"I never behaved inappropriately. I was always above reproach."

"Really?"

"Yes, Raven, really. Unlike with you, there is no TV footage of me behaving badly. I sldo didn't do drugs and I didn't sleep around. I was a good Catholic girl!"

Raven snorted. "Next thing you'll be telling me that Mento was your first lover."

"HE WAS!" Rita shouted.

Raven smirked. "Garfield is my first lover too."

"Oh, bullshit, who do you think you're kidding, demoness? Do you really expect me to believe that my son was your first?"

Raven's smirk vanished. "I don't owe you or anyone other than Garfield an account of my past actions. He trusts me and that should be good enough for you."

This time it was Rita's turn to glare. Raven, to her credit, did not flinch, but she did continue speaking.

"You're going to be my mother-in-law. I would prefer that we respect each other and get along, but if you aren't interested I can live with that, Rita."

"You think you can just blow us off, witch?"

"if you insist on trying to assassinate my character, I can and I will. And name calling won't change that. And for the record, I am not a witch."

"I don't care what you are, I'm his mother; I will always be his mother."

"If you ask him to choose between us, you'd better prepare yourself, you might not be happy with his choice."

Rita's hands balled into fists, her long fingernails dug into her palms.

"You're using magic on him, aren't you? You cast a spell on him."

"I've done no such thing, because love spells don't really exist. Magic cannot be used to subvert free will."

Rita turned and grumbling she marched out of Raven's room.

"You think you're so clever. After I talk with Garfield we'll see who wins." She snapped at Raven before the door slid shut.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Thanks to all who have continued to read this story, and an extra big thank you to all who take the time to review! Starting tomorrow I'm going to be at Comic Con Denver, so I won't update for a few days.


	14. The Changeling Stands His Ground

The sound of jet engines coming to life echoed across Steel City bay. The night was moonless and fog shrouded the Titans Tower East while the T-Ship East lifted off from the Tower's rooftop, its five passengers were pressed against their seats as the signature aircraft which had been dormant for years made an appearance across the city's skyline. A few citizens noticed as the T-Ship flew around the city, quickly gaining altitude until it disappeared into the nighttime clouds that covered the city.

The T-Ship quickly filed a flight plan with both the US and Canadian civilian air authorities, listing as its final destination the northern part of Ellesmere Island. It continued to climb rapidly as its afterburners pushed the signature Titans air transport well into the upper reaches of the stratosphere. Once it reached an altitude of 20,000 meters it fired up its ramjets and broke the sound barrier accelerating until it reached a speed of Mach 5.

The T-Ship crossed the northwestern US in just 20 minutes and when it crossed the Canadian border it was greeted by 5 fighter jets, which briefly escorted the Titan's jet across Quebec until they fell far behind, unable to keep up with the versatile aircraft that Cyborg designed over 10 years earlier.

Soon the T-Ship was past the northern part of Quebec and was over the many islands that comprised the territories that belonged to Canada's Inuit people. The Northern Lights shimmered in the sky as the T-Ship flew over Baffin Island and crossed the Arctic Circle, entering a region were the sun would not set for months. The island below shimmered in the light as its glaciers and snowpack reflected the low angled rays of light that rained down from the sun.

Soon Baffin Island was left behind and Ellesmere Island was up ahead. The T-Ship's pilot pulled back on the throttle and the jet slowly began to descend towards its destination. The sun was shining as it approached its target, which from the air looked like a hill covered in snow. The jet's engines whined as it slowed to a hover and landed in front of the hill. As soon as it touched down the five canopies opened and their occupants climbed out of the jet: a tall bionic man, another tall man wearing a dark parka, a scantily clad alien who appeared to be impervious to the cold followed by a short parka clad couple. The quintet surveyed their surroundings and quickly discovered the entrance to the underground base. They entered stealthily, unaware that they were being watched by closed circuit cameras.

There were no robots present to repel their incursion into the not so secret base, and they quickly penetrated into its interior.

A flash of blinding light appeared and within seconds the secret base was vaporized in a powerful nuclear explosion, which destroyed everything in a 1 mile radius. The atomic inferno was monitored from a distance by 4 sinister figures, who continued to watch until they were satisfied that there were no survivors.

"That was anti-climatic." Monsieur Mallah remarked.

"Not to mention that we only killed the original 5 Titans." Madam Rouge added. "I was hoping that more of them would have fallen into our trap."

"It doesn't matter, we severed the head. Without it the body will die." Immortus pontificated. "The remaining Titans will scatter without their leaders. We will be able to pick them off one by one."

Dr. Silas Stone stared at the giant screen, which showed a large crater where the base used to be with a mushroom cloud above it.

"Victor … no … it can't be."

"I. Am. Afraid. That. It. Is. And. That. No. Amount. Of. Wishing. Will. Change. That." The Brain announced in his synthetic vocoder voice.

Silas Stone broke down and began to weep.

"He was my only son … how could you … has every shred of humanity been stripped away from you?"

General Immortus chuckled.

"What you call 'humanity' is an artificial construct. We are unencumbered with that handicap, and are thus truly human, having shed any artificial obstacles keeping up from realizing our fully human potenial … well … except for Mallah of course." The decrepit old soldier chuckled.

Dr. Stone continued to weep.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Cyborg sighed, as he read the feedback on the console in the common room. The entire Titan family was watching the tactical display on the giant screen, which indicated that a powerful detonation had occurred in northern Canada.

"You were right grass stain; a nuke just went off on Ellesmere Island. It was a trap."

Gar smiled subtly and graciously accepted the victory he was enjoying.

The changeling remembered the robots that Brother Blood built a long time before, using technology he stole from Cyborg. After Cyborg defeated him the robots were deactivated and placed in storage in the Tower East's basement. Using his holoring technology it was easy for Cyborg to disguise 5 robots to look like them and after reprogramming them they were sent off to spring the trap.

"And best of all, they think we're dead." Gar replied.

"And we will catch them off guard in their Siberian base." Raven added.

Nightwing stepped up to the console.

"Cyborg, we should inform NORAD about the source of that explosion. We don't want a war getting started because of this."

"I'm a step ahead of you man. I'm already contacting them. They'll know that the Russians had nothing to do with it."

Gar stepped away from the console and surveyed the assembled Titans. The looks on their faces conveyed that they were ready to follow him into the hornet's nest. Their bodies didn't always agree with their faces as many were still recovering from their treatment at the Brotherhood's hands.

He saw his original team, the one he lead against the Brotherhood the first time years ago:

Pantha was bruised but she looked undeterred, her lucha libre mask was unable to hide the determination she felt, the desire to put the Brotherhood in their place.

Jericho, silent as always, but now married to Kole. Now that he was fully mature Gar could see the resemblance the mute Titan had with his father, Slade. The young man had inherited his father's grit but not his dementia.

The Herald was stern faced behind his mask, yet his body twitched in anticipation, while Mas Y Menos, who were back into their costumes, both stood with crossed arms, their body language telegraphing that they were eager to get going.

Red Star, Kilowatt and Aqualad were in the back of the room, chatting quietly with each other. Bushido was hanging out with Kid Flash and Jinx. Gnaark looked wild and untamed as he paced around.

Wildebeest was licking his wounds but looked undeterred while Speedy was taking inventory of the arrows in his quiver. Starfire and Bumblebee were chatting in the kitchen while Nightstar flitted around, still hungry for her mother's attention.

Argent levitated silently, while Hot Shot, her on again, off again boyfriend stood at her side. Melvin, Teether and Timmy with their adolescent impatience tapped their feet and rocked on their heels.

"So what are we waiting for?" Melvin finally asked. "Bobby's ready to kick some butt!"

Gar uncrossed his arms and addressed his team.

"Be ready in 30 minutes. We're going to Siberia!"

_**-(scene break )-**_

"Garfield, stop, we want to talk with you."

The changeling was walking briskly to the room that he now shared with Raven in the Tower East, looking forward to spending a few moments with his woman before they embarked on their mission.

"I thought you said I was in charge of this mission. Don't tell me that you're already having second thoughts?"

Mento caught up to his adoptive son, placing his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"You're still in charge … your mother and I; we want to discuss something else."

The changeling frowned. He already knew what they wanted to talk about. And it was a subject that was worse than losing command of the mission.

"Save your breath … I already know you don't like her."

"Should we like her?" Mento asked.

The changeling bristled at the remark. "Yeah … you should."

"But Garfield." Rita interjected. "She's a …"

"DON'T SAY IT!" He bellowed at them. "That doesn't define who she is, not even close."

Mento smiled as he patted the green Titan on the shoulder.

"I'm afraid it does, son. It's the source of her powers … Garfield, we know you love the girl, but you have to face the facts about her."

Changeling jerked his shoulder away from Mento's hand.

"What about these facts? She's half human; her moral character is unmatched …"

"She's already sleeping with you …" Rita interrupted.

"And you didn't have sex with dad before you were married?"

"Your father was my first."

"And I'm Raven's first … I'm 28 years old, dammit, I'm not a kid."

Rita sighed unhappily. "But why her? … there are so many nice girls out there."

"And they don't want to have anything to do with a green freak like me. Raven knows me, she knows that there is more to me than just my green hide, heck she even likes that I'm green."

"What about those nice girls you studied with in Colorado?"

"They weren't interested in me that way … no one was."

"So Raven is your consolation prize? Are you really going to settle for a girl who accepts you only because she really is a freak?" Rita needled him.

Gar balled his fists and a hint of red fury appeared in his eyes. "She is not a freak!"

Rita backed off. "Maybe … but really sweetie, you could do better, much better. What was that girl's name back at school? Alexa? Weren't the two of you close?"

"Alexa? She's a slut. I had a one night stand with her … you know … a booty call … friends with benefits? Is that what your ideal girl is for me? Why? Just because she's tall and blond? Because she isn't a freak?"

"You aren't a freak." Mento chided him.

"YES! I AM! Look at me! I'm green, I have pointy ears and fangs! I have a deadly virus coursing through my veins! I can turn into animals … what the hell do you call that? Because it sure isn't normal!"

"Garfield …"

"No! You listen to me! I have a girl who I love and who loves me. So what if she's different? I'm different."

"We just want what's best for you."

"She is what's best for me and I'm going to marry her … end of story. If you don't like that, that's your problem. If you won't accept my life decisions, then get the hell out, because I know what I want to do."

His hands still balled at his side he turned to leave.

"Garfield … wait … we're sorry." Mento surprised him. The changeling stopped, but did not turn around to face them.

"What?"

"Forgive us son, it's a parent's job to second guess their son's choice of bride … but … eventually parents have to accept their children's decision. I … we can tell that you're serious about Raven."

He spun around and faced them. "Yeah … I am serious. Is it really that hard to accept?"

"It was, but you're right, it shouldn't be." Mento replied as Rita stared stoically at her son.

Gar pursed his lips before replying. "You know, you guys haven't exactly been there for me these for a long time. You didn't come to my graduations … and yes, I know, you were chasing after the Brotherhood of Evil. It just pisses me off that now that I've chosen someone to share my life with that you suddenly appear out of nowhere and tell me she's wrong for me. You don't know me and you certainly don't know Raven."

"We're sorry, son. All we ask is that you be patient with us … we'll learn to love her too, I promise."

Garfield's eyes trembled. He then approached them with his arms open wide and they hugged. At that moment Raven emerged from their room down the hallway.

"Gar?"

The changeling gestured to his fiancée to approach. She complied and Mento released his son from the group hug and wrapped his arms around the grey sorceress.

"Welcome to the family, Raven." Mento murmured to her. She hesitated before cautiously returning his embrace.

"Thank you"

Mento led her back to the rest of his family and they shared their first ever group hug. Unknown to them she still wasn't a big hugging fan, but she kept that to herself.

Maybe, she thought to herself, hugs weren't such a bad thing after all.

_**-(scene break )-**_

"No mommy, I don't want you to go! I want you to stay!"

Starfire looked into her daughter's blue eyes. The anguish she saw in them was all too familiar and it brought back terrible memories from the day her family had forsaken her, handing her over to the Citadel in exchange for peace on Tamaran. She remembered well the events that led to that terrible day. Tamaran had been under attack for months. At first it was easy to repel the invaders, after all Tamaranians were fierce and cunning warriors. But the enemy's onslaught was relentless. They kept coming back, day after day after day and in greater numbers each time. She didn't know it at the time, but it was her sister Blackfire who sold her into bondage to the Citadel, to be a mere concubine, a sexual plaything to the Emperor.

At the time Starfire did not know this and she thought that her parents had offered her to the Citadel, who actually had asked for the red head at Blackfire's instigation. Her parents were Tamaranians above all and they were clear that not even a princess was above the people's welfare. If handing their daughter over into a life of sexual slavery would save Tamaran, then they had no other choice, as much as it pained them. Even Galfore, her knorfka, remained silent and taciturn when confronted with the unpleasant truth.

Starfire understood what her duty was. Being a Tamaranian royal meant being the first to charge into battle as well as being the last to retreat. All Tamaranians were expected to give their lives to defend Tamaran, and she was not exempt. While she knew what was expected of her, it didn't make it any easier for her. Her instinct was to beg her parents to spare her, to remove the terrible burden that had been placed on her. She knew of course that to do so would reveal her to be a coward and bring untold shame upon the crown. When the Gordanian ships arrived she submitted herself and was forced to bear the humiliation of being shackled like a common criminal and thrown into a cell aboard the enemy ship. It was the last time she ever saw her parents, who she later learned were killed in a skirmish after she escaped to Earth.

Starfire saw the same fear of being forsaken in her daughter's eyes. The child had already lost her parents once and was terrified that they would once again disappear without a trace.

"I must go and … help our friends … punish … some bad people."

And there it was again … duty before family. It was as if she was looking through a mirror into her own past. And she hated herself for it.

"You will stay with Aunt Karen. Do not worry … I will … return … that is … a promise."

Nightstar dropped her head in resignation.

"Yes mommy, I understand. You're a superhero and you have to stop the bad people."

"It's time!" Changeling announced. "Herald, you know what to do."

The Titan Trumpeter raised his horn to his lips and blew. A small black disk appeared, hovering in the air and it quickly grew. Gar passed through first, followed by Raven, Nightwing, Starfire and Cyborg. The rest of the Titans filed in after them, followed by the Doom Patrol and after the last one passed through the portal vanished.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Bumblebee watched as the extended Titans disappeared into the black void. Once they were gone she turned to the little princess and smiled at her.

"Why didn't you go with them, Aunt Karen?"

"I'm injured sweetie, my wings were cut off."

"So you're hurt? My daddy gets hurt a lot. Sometimes mommy brings him home and he's really hurt, really bad. Sometimes she takes care of him, but sometimes Uncle Alfred or Grandpa Bruce has to come."

"How do you feel when your daddy gets hurt?"

The golden skinned girl paused before replying, biting her lower lip much like Raven did when she was younger.

"I feel scared. Daddy … he isn't strong like me or Mommy … sometimes Mommy gets angry with him … she says he's … what's the word … reckless … that he's having a pissing contest with Grandpa Bruce."

Bumblebee's curiosity was piqued.

"Is Grandpa Bruce Batman?"

Nightstar suddenly looked alarmed, as if she had done something wrong.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

"It's OK sweetie, I understand, you don't have to tell me anything. But don't worry, I am a Titan, so I kind of figured that out."

The child closed her eyes and appeared to be fighting back tears.

"I wish Mommy and Daddy weren't super heroes."

"Because your father gets hurt?"

She nodded sadly.

"And they're always busy and I get left alone in the apartment. I don't like living there … it's creepy … and there's no one to play with."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Sometimes I get to go stay at Grandpa Bruce's house. It's really big and Uncle Alfred always has fun things to do. But there's no one to play with because I'm Tamaranian."

"Don't you have Tamaranian friends?"

A bitter expression appeared on her face.

"Once one of mommy's cousins came to visit and she brought her daughter, my cousin."

"So what happened?"

"My cousin said I was a 'half breed' and shouldn't be a princess … Mommy told them to go away and never come back. She never told me what that means. Can you tell me, Aunt Karen?"

Bumblebee hesitated before she answered.

"It's a mean way of saying that you're half Human and half Tamaranian."

"Is that bad?"

Karen became wide eyed.

"Of course not! It makes you special! You have gifts from both our races."

"So why did they say that, Aunt Karen?"

"Because they're stupid! And because … well … some people don't like people who are different than they are. I once wondered if that was a human thing, but now I know that Tamaranians do it too. Tell me sweetie, do you like your Grandpa Bruce?"

"I do, he tells me I'm his little princess. But he's always busy too. Sometimes when I go there I don't get to see him ... Daddy says he's not like Grandpa Bruce … but he is."

"It's not easy being Batman's son … or being Nightwing's daughter."

The child nodded sadly.

"Do I have to be a superhero when I grow up?"

Bumblebee looked away, staring out the window as she pondered the difficult question.

"I don't think so, but you are a bit young still to be worrying about that. Do you want to be a superhero like your Mommy?"

"No!" She replied immediately.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to live in a creepy apartment in Bludhaven. I want to live someplace pretty. I don't want to fight with bad people."

"Well, I'm a superhero and I live here."

"You do? I like it here."

Karen smiled.

"You should see were Raven and Gar live! It's really pretty. They used to live in a Tower like this one with your mother and father and your Uncle Victor too."

"When they were the Teen Titans?"

"That's right, dear."

"But they aren't Teen Titans anymore. Aunt Raven has a store and Uncle Gar is a veterila … a viteri … he's an animal doctor … I wish Mommy and Daddy could have regular jobs like they do."

Karen sighed, knowing there was no chance that Nightwing would ever "hang up the spandex".

"I think Raven and Gar are still Titans, dear."

Nightstar slowly shook her head.

"Let's have some fun!" Karen tried to change the subject. "I saw a box of cake mix in the kitchen. Would you like to help me bake some cup cakes? When everyone comes back we can have a party!"

Nightstar smiled as she took Karen's hand and followed her to the kitchen.

_**-( scene break )-**_

I just got back from Comic Con in Denver. I posted a brief trip report in my profile, but I'll include it here too (no mail bag today):

Denver Comic Con 2013 Report

This was my first Comic Con and I really had no idea of what to expect.

It opened Friday afternoon on May 31. I attended all three days with my adult daughter and we had a blast. The best description I can come up with is that its a combination of Halloween, a carnival, Disneyland and school!

Halloween: the cosplayers, who were especially present on Saturday. Common categories: Star Trek, Star Wars, DC heroes, Marvel, Harry Potter, Doctor Who and many flavors of Anime. In the realm of DC the Titans were present, but rare. I saw 5 Ravens (one which was a guy!), 2 Starfires and one Beast Boy. Cyborg was AWOL and while there were many Robins, not a single one was the Robin from Teen Titans. We did not cosplay, though next year I might go as Slade or Deathstroke.

Carnival: the atmosphere was festive

Disneyland: It was nerdvana

School: There were many panels to attend:

We attended some voice actor panels. Khary Peyton (Cyborg ) was there. My daughter asked him who Cyborg should be shipped with. His response, which was in jest, was that Cy plays the field. He then announced that Cy will be shipped with Jinx in the new show.

We also attended a Young Justice panel, which included a writer, an arist and a few voice actors (including Khary: Aqualad). Talk about a tough crowd! They were angry about the show being cancelled.

We also saw Phil Lamarr. He is a voice actor, and is he funny.

We saw the great George Perez, co creator of the "New Teen Titans" in the 1980's and co creator of Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and Slade.

We also attended some Star Trek and Star Wars panels.

The highlight of the Weekend though was William Shatner. We scored the sought after wristbands and were admitted to the ballroom.

All in all it was fun and well worth it.


	15. They Always Get Away!

The only sound in the large room was a faint whirring sound, made by a hydraulic pump system. It was dimly lit which almost make a dark portal that suddenly appeared to be invisible. Once it was fully formed Raven and Changeling emerged from the dark circle, followed by their teammates.

The room smelled stale and Gar noticed a mild acrid aroma that permeated it, its harshness having been diluted earlier. He began to survey the room and saw that it was filled with transparent, glass tubes full of a sickening looking fluid.

"I've been here before." Nightwing whispered as he ran one of his hands along a tube. "These are the tubes they were growing the babies in … until they died."

Raven found the chains that had been used to bind Nightwing and Starfire, still attached to their anchors on the floor. She then closed her eyes and touched her forehead.

"I sense people nearby." She announced.

"So do I, that way. Dozens of people, it looks like the Brotherhood of Evil has assembled their own extended team." Mento added as he pointed at the door.

"Well that explains why everything's been so quiet lately, all the bad guys are here, which is fine with me, it'll make it easier to kick their butts all at once." Cyborg chortled.

Gar stared at the door his former mentor and adoptive father was pointing at. Much like the doors in the proverbial game shows, he wasn't exactly sure what was behind it. There was no room for error in this mission and yet they were operating in the dark, as if blindfolded.

"Here' the plan: The original Titans and the Doom Patrol will go after The Brain, Mallah, Rouge and Immortus. The rest of you will have to improvise and take on the others. Take them down as fast as you can. Mas y Menos, I want you guys to find Cyborg's dad." Gar announced.

The assembled team nodded their understanding and agreement. Changeling then turned back to face the door of destiny and taking Raven's hand he squeezed it. She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"For good luck." She whispered to him.

He responded by hugging her and after he released her he pointed at the door.

"Titans together, TITANS GO!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

The sounds of two pairs of footfalls echoed in the long corridor. Two forlorn figures walked down the hallway, unhappily making their patrol rounds inside the secret Siberian base.

Billy Numerous had a frown plastered on his face and his hands were shoved in his pockets as he walked in an slouch. He still wore the same red spandex suit with the mathematical division symbol on his chest. Unlike the days when he was in his prime he was no longer a thin and muscular man, and his costume highlighted his now pronounced gut, the product of too much fast food, barbecue and beer.

His companion was even paunchier. Control Freak looked about the same as in his prime days, if it could be said that he ever had any, except that his hairline was fully receded. He still wore his red hair long with a pony tail, but there was no hiding his dome.

"This sucks Control Freak!" Billy moaned. "Why are we on patrol? Who's gonna invade our hideout?"

The pudgy nerd pulled his juiced up remote control out of a pocket in his coat, fingering it before putting it back.

"They consider us to be a joke, Billy. This is nothing more than make work for us, something to keep us busy and out of the way."

"Yeah! How come the others get invited to the meetings and we don't? What's the Brain got against us anyway? It's not like the Titans never bamboozled the others."

"The Titans are no more." Control Freak replied sadly. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm gonna miss them."

"Well, that Starfire, she was one purty lady if you ask me. She could butter my corn, if you know what I mean."

"Actually, Raven was more my type." Control Freak replied.

"Raven? You've been watching too much TV buckaroo! Your eyes are all messed up. That Raven is one ugly and scary bitch if you ask me, in fact …"

Billy's diatribe was interrupted when a green gorilla appeared out of nowhere and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. Control Freak froze, staring incredulously at the assailant before he finally recognized him.

"Beast Boy! You're alive!"

The changeling morphed back into his human form and grabbed Control Freak with his left hand while drawing back his right hand, which was balled into a fist and ready to punch the chubby villain.

"No one insults my fiancée! And the name is Changeling!"

Control Freak raised his hands apologetically.

"Uh, that was Billy who said that. I actually said I liked Raven … wait … did you say she's your fiancée? Way to go Beast Boy! I mean Changeling. Major score dude!" The villain replied as he gave his two thumbs up.

"Where is everybody else? Tell me!"

"They're all on the third level. They're having a meeting to discuss how they're gonna wipe out the remaining Titans. Say … can I switch sides … it isn't a lot of fun working for the Brotherhood …"

With a swift and powerful jab Gar stopped Control Freak's sales pitch and the inept villain slumped onto the floor unconscious.

"Yeah right, like that's gonna happen." Gar replied, now surrounded by his teammates.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Monsieur. Mallah. Your. Report." The Brain's synthetic vocoder voice echoed throughout the huge room which was the size of an airplane hangar.

The extended Brotherhood team was seated around a massive circular table and more than a few appeared curious as to what Mallah would report. The genius gorilla stood up from his massive chair at that table and walked over to a giant TV screen, which came to life and displayed tables of statistical data and analysis.

"According to my calculations the next DNA sample has a 37% chance of reaching maturity."

"That's all, 37%?" Madam Rouge complained. "So in other words, they will die like your previous batch did."

"The previous sample had a projected survival rate of 12%, this is a major improvement." Mallah retorted. "Combining human and Tamaranian DNA is harder than it appears on the surface. Nightwing and Starfire were extremely lucky to successfully conceive their daughter."

"I knew we should have kidnapped the child, we could have used her DNA as a starting point." Rouge grumbled. "At this rate it will be years before we can clone our army."

"Perhaps we should seek some help. If we could removed some of the genetic requirements we might improve their chances of survival. " General Immortus remarked. "Guards, bring the prisoner."

Two robotic soldiers saluted and marched out of the room. They returned a few minutes later escorting Dr. Silas Stone at gunpoint. The man now sported a defiant look on his face and his hands were balled into fists.

"What do you psychotics want? Whatever it is, I won't cooperate!"

"Dr. Stone. You. Do. Have. Experience. With. Cybernetic. Implants. Am. I. Correct?"

"What kind of stupid question is that? You know very well that I am the world's top expert."

"Temper doctor, mind your temper. You wouldn't want to lose your head now, would you?" Immortus chided him.

"Do your worst! You took everything away from me; I have nothing left to lose. And I won't make any Cybernetic implants for your army of clones!"

Madam Rouge picked up a razor sharp scalpel from a table, and walked over to the scientist as she twirled the evil blade in her hand.

"We can be very, very persuasive doctor. The art of inflicting pain is my specialty, and I do so enjoy inflicting it. Did you know that there is very little difference between how the human brain processes pleasure and pain? Of course in my case dispensing pain gives me … great pleasure."

Silas tried to break free but the two robots were far too strong and they immobilized him completely. Madam Rouge approached him and caressed his left ear.

"I will start by cutting off your ear. It's mostly cartilage, so the initial pain won't be too intense, but don't worry doctor, we'll progress to the more … sensitive parts of your body … until you agree to cooperate with us." She grinned evilly as she brandished her vile blade.

Silas Stone summoned whatever courage he had left and spat in the woman's face. She betrayed no surprise as she wiped the spittle off of her face and addressed him in stone cold monotone.

"You will regret that Dr. Stone. You will soon be begging me for mercy, even if I have to eviscerate you."

"Like hell he will!" A familiar voice called out.

Silas was unable to turn around, but he would have recognized that voice anywhere.

"Victor!"

Madam Rouge dropped her scalpel.

"Impossible! You died on Ellesmere Island! We saw you die in the explosion!"

Changeling stepped in front of his combined team and pointed at the 4 leaders of the Brotherhood of Evil.

"Titans Go! Doom Patrol, attack!" He shouted.

The attack was swift. Unlike the first time when he led a smaller team against the Brotherhood this time he was not at a numerical disadvantage. The Brotherhood's henchmen were caught by surprise and there were no platoons of robots present at General Immortus's command. The more cowardly henchmen, recalling the routing they received the last time they faced the extended Titans family, tried to run away but their escape route was cut off by Bushido, Pantha, Hot Spot and Argent, who quickly subdued and captured them.

Madam Rouge and Mallah joined the battle and as always proved to be difficult foes. Gnaark and Kole engaged him at first and were soon assisted by Robotman. Mas y Menos reached Dr. Stone and escorted him to safety at the far end of the cavernous room.

Changeling and Raven advanced towards the Brain, dispatching villains like Mad Mod, Punk Rocket and Warp along the way. They were joined by Mento and Negative Man. Just as they were about to reach the Brotherhood's leader he vanished into a swirl of shimmering light.

"Where'd he go?" Gar yelled. "I almost had my hands on him."

"Looks like the rumors are true; the Brotherhood of Evil has developed teleportation technology." Larry remarked.

"But it's only short distance teleportation." Mento added.

"I can still sense him. He's still here somewhere." Raven interjected.

"Show us the way!" Gar shouted.

Raven led the foursome out of the room via a pair of double doors while the battle continued. It was then that Immortus's robots finally arrived. Mallah, Rouge and Immortus also vanished as they too were teleported away. Nightwing and Starfire followed Raven while Cyborg went to protect his father.

Raven led them down a maze of corridors, stopping several times to verify they were still on the right path. Eventually she led them into a massive room. In the middle there was a rocket ship that was venting liquid oxygen and a large countdown timer showed that it would be lifting off in less than 60 seconds. The evil foursome was preparing to board the ship when Madam Rouge noticed their arrival.

"I must congratulate you. Who would have thought that a Shopkeeper and Veterinarian would cause us so much trouble?" She shouted to them.

"Give it up Brotherhood of Evil, your rocket ship isn't leaving." Nightwing shouted back as Starfire prepared some Starbolts with which to cripple the ship.

"Oh, but we will. This base also has a self destruct, which will detonate in 90 seconds. If you hurry, you and your friends might be able to escape from here in time … decisions, decisions … oh, and the self destruct can't be shut down.

"What if she's bluffing?" Mento asked. "What about their henchmen?"

"I don't think she is." Gar added. "And do you really expect them to care about their henchmen?"

"So what do we do?" Raven asked.

"We evacuate." Gar replied in a bitter voice. "They're gonna get away … again."

"We knew you would be reasonable Changeling, you always are. That's why you always lose!" Mallah laughed.

Gar felt something snap inside him and he lunged towards the rocket platform.

"Like hell I will!" He shouted as he began to transform.

Nightwing pulled out his communicator and ordered the remaining Titans to retreat using one of the Herald's portals.

"Raven, you can get us out of here, right?" Mento asked.

"Yes, but we'll be cutting it close."

"Then we'd better help Garfield. Keep track of the time, when there's 15 seconds left round us up and get us out of here."

As Gar ran towards the towering rocket he began to transform. The Doom Patrol had never seen it before but the Titans immediately recognized it. He was turning into the Beast. Within seconds the transformation was complete and with a mighty jump the green leviathan reached the boarding platform. Mallah and Rouge were wide eyed but knowing they had no other choice they confronted the nightmarish monster.

Meanwhile Starfire pelted the rocket's engines with her starbolts, but the strange alloy they were made of was able to resist her attack. Nightwing, Negative Man and Mento joined the Beast in his attack. Negative Man tried to enter the rocket to sabotage it from the inside, but his shadow self was repelled by a force field.

Immortus and the Brain were already aboard the ship, and Immortus emerged brandishing a laser rifle which he began to fire. Nightwing disarmed him with a bird-a-rang while Mento started a mental attack against both Mallah and Rouge.

Gar was beginning to believe that they might be able to storm the ship and prevent its launch when hundreds of Immortus's robots flooded into launching bay, firing their weapons.

The Beast turned to Raven and roared. She knew exactly what he meant.

"35 seconds left!" She shouted back.

The Beast quickly morphed back into his human form

"RETREAT! WE'RE OUTTA HERE!"

The six heroes regrouped and Raven's black hemisphere appeared as the rocket's engines ignited. They reappeared 50 miles away in the frozen tundra. They collectively turned their gaze back towards the Brotherhood's base and saw a rocket lift off and quickly accelerate into the sky.

"5 seconds." Raven announced.

"Everyone cover your eyes!" Gar ordered.

Starfire did not avert her alien eyes which were impervious to atomic blasts. 5 seconds later she saw a bright flash and the base was destroyed. Once the flash subsided Gar kicked a snow bank and dropped an f-bomb. It was the first time Raven ever heard him utter such a vulgarity.

"They got away … again." Larry remarked. "They always get away. The only time they didn't was 12 years ago, when you kids caught them."

"And they escaped during their trial." Mento added. "I was really hoping we would catch again them this time."

Raven approached Gar and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself. You made the right decision … you always do." She consoled him.

"We were so close, so damn close. If we had gotten there just 10 seconds earlier we could have stormed the ship, there's no way they would have stopped us …" He shook his head. "Some leader I am. Mallah's right, I am a loser."

"That's not true Garfield. You made the right decision. They would have escaped and we would have been caught in the blast. Those robots were targeting Raven. Without her there would have been no escape for us." Mento remarked.

"Mento's right Changeling, you made the right choice. The Brotherhood's been defanged for now; they ran away with their tail between their legs. You won Gar." Nightwing added. "And you're a great leader; I couldn't have done it any better myself."

Gar looked unconvinced but thanked everyone for their support nonetheless. After that one of the Herald's portals appeared and the masked trumpeter stepped out of it. Gar looked up at him hopefully, not even needing to as the question.

"Everyone was evacuated. Once the henchman got wind of the self destruct they surrendered to us, so we got them out too."

Gar brightened upon hearing the news.

"At least something turned out right." The changeling replied. "The Brotherhood escaped."

"Yeah, Cyborg monitored their launch. They broke orbit a few minutes ago and headed out into deep space."

"Good riddance." Raven remarked. "I hope they never come back."

The Herald smiled while he gestured to his portal.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting cold. Shall we head home?"

Gar was the last one to step through the portal and to his surprise he found that a party was already underway in the common room in the Tower East. Raven wrapped an arm around his waist and he gave her a weak smile before he sighed.

"Being a leader is tough." He whispered to her.

"I know, not just anyone can do it. But you did."

"But I failed Rave, they got away."

"We'll get another chance Gar. We're behind you, 100%, and I'm behind you 1000%."

"That's not possible Rae; you can't give more than 100%."

She gave him one of her old school glares.

"Don't go mathematician on me Gar, you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry … I'm still disappointed … that's all."

She took his hand in her own, interlacing their fingers.

"So what do we do now Gar?"

He surprised her with a bright smile.

"If I'm not mistaken, we're supposed to get married."

"That's right, we are." She replied.

"So what do you have in mind Raven, what kind of ceremony? Who do we invite?"

Raven squeezed his hand again.

"Well, you know me, I'd prefer something small. But there's no way we can get away without inviting all the Titans."

"Then I guess we should head back to Jump City to make the preparations. The semester starts in 4 weeks so we're gonna have to hurry so I can be back in time to start my new job."

Nightstar flitted up to them and placed two cup cakes in their hands.

"I made them for you." She announced proudly, waiting for them to try them.

Gar and Raven "toasted" each other using their cupcakes after which gar popped his into his mouth, consuming it in a single gulp. Raven rolled her eyes and he protested with a short "What?" while Raven politely ate hers in small bites.

Cyborg and Bumblebee approached them with sly and conniving smiles on their faces.

"What?" Raven asked.

"Don't even think that you aren't having bachelor and bachelorette parties." Cyborg grinned.

"Don't be absurd … why would we want to even consider such debauchery. And the whole precept behind the parties is ridiculous: the implication is that we are losing something by getting married, which is nonsense."

Bumblebee crossed her arms and glared at the gray Titan. "You know, Raven, you've changed a lot since the teams broke up. You're finally at ease with your femininity and your emotions … but you're still a major buzzkill. When are you going to learn to have some good old fashioned fun with your girl friends?"

"I don't need that kind of 'fun'. I've never got drunk and have never understood the appeal of a steroid enhanced beefcake stripper. I already have a man … the best one in whole damn world, a man I love with my heart, body and soul."

Garfield smiled upon hearing her words.

And exasperated moan escaped from Karen's lips. "Sparky, you and BB need to take a hike … it's girl talk time."

The two men shrugged their shoulders and looked at each other.

"Now!" Bumblebee snarled at them.

"OK, sheesh, we're leaving, don't get your stingers in a knot." Cyborg complained as the two men left under duress. Once they were gone she frowned at Raven."

"This isn't about you, girl."

"Excuse me? I'm the one getting married, in case you forgot."

"I haven't forgotten … but this is about us, your friends. We want to have fun with you, to celebrate with you while you're still single. We're happy that you've bagged such a great guy. But for one night, you belong just to us. After you get married … you belong to him … capische?"

Raven frowned as she considered her words.

"I'm OK with celebrating, but must it be tawdry?"

"Yes, it must. Maybe you don't like beefcake … Has it not occurred to you that your friends might enjoy having handsome, half naked guys strutting around them?"

Raven crossed her arms and shook her head. "I'm beginning to sense that I have no choice in the matter."

"Finally! You get it!"

"No, I don't. But I'll play along with this shallow ritual if it will make you happy."

Bumblebee sighed. "Girl, you need to learn to relax and have some fun."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Two days later … back in Jump City._

Raven looked critically at the reflection in the full length mirror, not sure what to make of it. A violet haired girl in a deadly looking blue dress stared back at her. The dress was unbelievably light and sheer, clinging strategically to the voluptuous curves on her body. It was revealing, teasing, tantalizing. It was so light that she felt as if she wasn't wearing anything at all.

"Starfire, why am I dressed like this?"

"You are doing the flaunting of the goods."

"Uh ... why? Gar isn't going to be there."

"He does not require of the dazzling, you have already won him."

"So who am I trying to dazzle, exactly?"

"Is it not obvious?"

"Uh … no?"

Starfire giggled. "You will be doing the reminding to our friends that you do the ruling."

"And … why would I want to do that?"

Starfire paused and scratched her chin as she pondered the question.

"I believe that it is called the 'rubbing it in'."

"And why would I … oh never mind."

The princess giggled. "Raven … our friends … they do care about you, do not misunderstand … but for many years when we discussed who would marry who, the consensus was that no one would ever marry you … except for me, of course. I knew that someday you and Garfield would be wed."

Raven stared out of her bedroom window, upstairs over Azarathia.

"They weren't wrong, Starfire … I just got lucky and hit the jackpot."

"That is not true; the one who is fortunate is Beast Boy."

"Dr. Garfield Logan." She corrected her friend.

"He is still the lucky one … have you not seen yourself in the mirror … you are what Earthlings call a 'babe'. You have the high degree of hotness and you will make our friends jealous."

"You seem to be enjoying this more than I am." Raven replied with smirk.

"Do you not believe that you are the hot?"

"I should … he's told me that I am … you know what? I don't think I've ever complemented him on his looks."

Starfire made a dismissive gesture. "The boys, they care not about such things. All he desires is your attention … and your body. But tonight, you will shine like the sun my friend, as we celebrate you."

Raven noticed a limo pull up in front of Azarathia. A huge sunroof slide open and Bumblebee, who was also wearing an evening gown and had a champagne flute in her hand, popped through the opening.

"C'mon ladies, it's time to go!" She shouted as she waved her free arm like a propeller.

"They're here … Starfire, where exactly are we going? Please tell me that it's not some kind of male stripper joint."

Starfire laughed. "Oh Raven, we would not do that to you."

"Then where are we going?" The sorceress asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"You will see Raven, now do not ask again. You are going to celebrate with your friends."

"I still wish you would tell me where we're going."

The princess smiled sheepishly. "Do not worry, Raven. It will be the fun."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven stared at the small cruise ship as she got out of the limo.

"Starfire … this ship … it looks familiar."

"That's because it is, girl." A vaguely familiar voice replied. "Remember that prom cruise?"

Raven suddenly recognized the voice and whirled around, balls of dark energy forming around her fists.

"Kitten! What are you doing here?"

"Whoa, chill out Raven … I'm one of the good guys now … take it easy."

"It is true, Raven, Kitten and Fang have moved to Bludhaven and have been helping us fight crime there."

Raven lowered her hands and the eldritch power around her fists sublimated away.

"When did this happen?"

"Six years ago. " Kitten replied before gesturing at the ship. "After all the commotion that night when we fought Starfire and Robin the company that operated the cruise ship was sued and went out of business. The ship now belongs to Platinum Events and Entertainment. They sail twice a week for a one day cruise to nowhere, it's really popular with the bachelorette parties. Out in international waters everything goes … and it's ladies only. Even the crew is all female. What happens on the Destiny stays on the Destiny."

"And since there are no men, nothing, mercifully, happens." Raven added.

"Uh … sure, why not. C'mon Raven, you're our lady of honor tonight. Let's get on board! I have to say, most of us thought you'd never get hitched. You sure proved us wrong!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Jarring Rock music played, while a smiling D.J. waved at the different groups that had assembled in the ship's main ballroom, which had dozens of large circular tables in it. Starfire and Jinx led Raven to their table, which was already occupied by Kole, Pantha, Argent, Bumblebee, Kitten and a few women Raven had met two or three times in her superhero career: Wonder Girl, the three Batgirls, Stargirl and Aquagirl.

"Since when are there three Batgirls?" Raven asked no one in particular. Female heroes with secret identities woremasks over their faces even though they were all dressed to kill and the three Bargirls were distinguished by their hair color. Raven had no idea that the red head was Barbara Gordon, the brunette was Cassandra Cain and the blond was Stephanie Brown. The only thing that gave away their Batclan membership was a bat shaped pendant that each one wore on a gold chain.

As Starfire guided Raven into her chair Jinx waved her arms like a windmill, summoning the wait staff.

"Hey! We're thirsty over here!"

A piece of beefcake appeared out of nowhere. He wore tight black trousers and his well chiseled chest was bare and well oiled. A black bowtie adorned his otherwise exposed neck. His hair was long and blond, flowing down to his shoulders. The word 'whoa' escaped from Raven's lips. There was no doubt his physique was the result of a steady diet of steroids, but it was hard to argue with the end result.

"What can I get you ladies?"

"I … I'll have a cranberry juice." Raven gurgled.

Jinx wrapped an arm around the demoness's shoulder.

"Scratch the juice. The lady here will be having a Sex on the Beach."

"What!?" Raven screeched. "Is there really such a drink?"

Kitten laughed while the waiter took their orders. "You don't get out much, do you Raven?"

"I … uh … I don't know … hey … I thought there were no men on board?" Raven sputtered.

"They're gorgeous … aren't they? It's a shame though." Argent remarked.

"What's a shame?"

"They're all gay … oh well; at least they're easy on the eyes. Why are all the hunky guys gay?" The New Zealand girl remarked as the shirtless waiter returned with their drinks. He placed Raven's cocktail in front of her. The sorceress eyed it carefully, as if it was tainted with an STD.

"Come on Raven, try it, it's good." Karen cajoled her.

Raven picked up her glass and took a careful and measured sip. She smacked her lips and took another sip. Before she knew what had happened, her glass was empty.

_One hour later …_

The ladies were all laughing boisterously. Some were bragging about their sexual prowess to each other. Raven was shocked to hear that Argent had lost count of how many guys she had slept with. Raven had lost count of the number of Sex on the Beaches she had consumed, though there were at least 7 empty glasses in front of her. She had also done something she seldom did: she laughed. This had not gone unnoticed by Bumblebee, who moved to Jinx's now vacant chair and sat down next to the grey sorceress, draping an arm around her shoulder.

"I knew you could loosen up!" Karen slurred slightly.

"Alcohol will do that." Raven replied.

"So how do you feel girl?"

"Pretty good … actually." Raven replied as she draped her own arm around Bumblebee's shoulder. "Relaxed, really relaxed."

"Told ya … see … you're a sister."

"I … hic guess I am … my glass is empty." Raven remarked with a slight slur of her own.

"You've had enough, girl, we don't want you falling asleep before the fun begins."

"Fun? What kind of fun?"

Kitten was sitting nearby and giggled. "We play truth or dare … screw the dare part, let's just play truth."

Raven shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not?"

"That's the spirit Rae-Rae … I'll start … truth: who was your first guy." Jinx chortled.

"First guy? What do you mean …"

"What do you think I mean? The first guy you had sex with!" Jinx laughed.

"Oh." Was Raven's only reply.

The other women gathered around Jinx. "So, it wasn't Wally, was it?" Argent grinned.

"Nope … but he thinks he was. It was a guy I met at a dance club … total one night stand … I don't even remember his name, of course I cast a memory spell on him after we were done, so he doesn't remember me at all."

"Your husband doesn't know?" Raven asked incredulously.

"Of course not, you think I'm stupid enough to tell him that?"

Raven blinked. "Isn't marriage about openness and honesty?"

"Yeah, right … what Wally doesn't know won't hurt him. Let him think he's been my only guy … so what if it isn't true … it makes him happy … and for the record, what's shared here stays here."

Raven winced upon hearing those words. She suddenly realized how naïve she was, thinking that everyone was like Garfield. The other women took turns confessing to each other.

Kitten confessed she had three guys before fang. Bumblebee's first was a long forgotten high school friend. Pantha boasted that her first was a Mexican TV star, Argent's first was a Rugby player, Wonder Girl said that Superboy was her first. Aquagirl's was Aqualad even though they never were a couple. Stargirl also lost her virginity to a high school classmate while Wondergirl confessed that her first was an old boyfriend.

Kole was next, and she stared nervously at the floor. Bumblebee laughed. "It's OK girl, we know your husband was your first."

"Actually … he wasn't. Please don't tell Jericho … he doesn't know."

"Relax Kole, we're all sworn to secrecy … so Joey thinks you were a blushing virgin on your honeymoon?"

"Yes … and I feel awful about lying to him … I promised to tell him someday, I just …"

Raven placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's OK Kole; you'll know when to tell him."

"How about you, Starfire?" Kitten asked.

"Nightwing was my first lover."

Kitten grinned. "Was he still Robin when you did it?"

"That is on a need to know basis."

"You were still Teens, don't deny it."

Starfire blushed. Kitten focused her attention on Barbara Gordon.

"How about you,red?"

Babs pursed her lips. "It might be better if I didn't tell."

"Nightwing has already told me that it was with him."

A chorus of 'ooohs' echoed around the table.

"I'm sorry, Starfire."

"OK … moving on … how about you, blond Batgirl?"

Stephanie frowned. "It was with a jerk I'd rather forget about."

"Sorry … how about you?" Jinx asked the dark haired Batgirl.

"I'm still a virgin."

"With a killer bod like that? You're joking."

"I'm not."

Jinx turned to Raven. "So, the only one left to confess is our lady of honor. So Raven, who was he?

Raven remained silent.

"Well Raven, who was your first? Was it some long forgotten guy during your undergrad days? A mysterious guy you met at a Goth party? Was it a one night stand? But most of all was he better than Beast Boy?"

Raven bit her lip and mumbled her reply.

"Speak up, chica, we can't hear you." Pantha grunted.

Raven pursed her lips. "Garfield was my first."

"No freaking way!" Jinx shrieked. "You're half demon and you've been monogamous all your life. Shit! I was thinking that you'd have gone through a dozen guys by now, maybe more."

Raven glared at the hextress. "I'm not like that."

Jinx and Kitten grinned maliciously. "Jinx, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"What are you thinking?" Raven asked nervously.

Jinx raised her glass and consumed it in a single gulp. "I heard that some of the waiters aren't gay."

"What!?"

"C'mon Raven, on Saturday you're gonna vow to forsake all others, you can still get another guy under your belt before it's too late!"

Raven rose to her feet, her indigo eyes were replaced by four red ones.

"How … dare … you!"

Before she could continue Raven felt a firm yet reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you come with me, dear?"

Raven turned around and found herself standing before a dark haired woman of imposing stature.

"Wonder Woman? What are you doing here?"

The Amazon smiled at the demoness. "Starfire invited me too. I'm sorry that I'm late. Come, Raven, let's get some fresh air."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Sometimes I think there's something wrong with me, Diana."

"There's nothing wrong with you Raven, you're just different."

"That's why I think there's something wrong with me."

"So let me get this straight: Your first time was with your fiancé at the age of 28."

"Yeah … most high school girls have far more sexual experience than I do."

"And why is that good?"

"I don't know … I guess it just makes me feel … undesirable."

Diana patted Raven on the shoulder. "Do you think I'm undesirable?"

Raven coughed violently. "What? You … undesirable? You're Wonder Woman! Whenever the guys talk about your all I ever hear is how hot you are."

Diana smiled. "Raven, I'm older than you are, quite a bit in fact, and I'm still a virgin. You're more experienced than I am, and so are all those women sitting at your table. There's nothing wrong with being sexually inexperienced."

"I'm not all that experienced, Diana. I mean … I've done it just once, and I really sucked at it, it was a bit of a disaster."

"Raven, you and your husband will figure it out, don't sweat it. What's important is that you're in love with each other. The bedroom gymnastics … that will take care of itself."

"How do you know that? I thought you said you were a …"

"You aren't the only who reads books."

Raven blushed. "Thanks Diana. Even though we've only been acquaintances in the past, I'm glad you came. I guess I've always thought of you as THE female superhero, I've always looked up to you."

"We ladies need to stick together, Raven, I see each one of you younger girls as a surrogate daughter. I think I owe you an apology, I should have been more involved with you, it's just that you've always been so level headed and independent … unlike them, I felt like you didn't need me." She head gestured at the table. "But they are your friends Raven, so go back and have fun with them. And I don't think they were serious about you cheating on Changeling, it was just the alcohol talking, and speaking of that, I'd recommend that you stick to fruit juice for the rest of the evening, it's pretty obvious that you aren't used to drinking."

"Thanks, Diana. And you're right; I'm not used to alcohol."

"Good, but before we join your friends, I have a question."

"Sure … fire away."

Diana smiled. "Would you be interested in joining the Justice League?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

And now, it's time for the mail bag! I will cover the reviews I skipped last time, as I have been informed that some of you really hate it when I skip the mail bag.

Chapter 13 mail:

**The Cretin** - "Rita needs to give it up. For better or worse, the betrothed wins just about every time. I think her misplaced anger is out of line here. Hopefully Raven won't make no mistakes.

Great chap. Off to read the next."

_I think a lot of parents have a hard time believing that a child will chose a mate over them,_

**spirit117** - "Well...that was fun...you have to love it when you meet the in-laws."

_I remember when I first met mine. I was alittle tense._

**Sweetums14** - "At the edge of my chair! I've never read the comics but, I've noticed that Rita hates Ravenn! And I really love how you convey rr character!"

_Rita hating Raven is more of my thing, the overbearing mother in law who finds fault with any girl her son brings home._

**Apollo Child** - "I was wondering why is it that Raven always has to work for Rita's approval? Is this based on her personality or for plot reasons?"

_A bit of both. Raven has always felt like an outsider, so It stands that she won't click with Rita._

**gabylokita41** - "Nice i loved it wonder what Rita will do to separate rae rae and bb really good and have fun :)"

_As you already know now, she has grudgingly accepted her gray daughter in law_

**TW** - "That scene with Rita was a little intense."

_Life can be intense. And for poor Raven it has always been an uphill battle._

**Guest** - "Rita stands no chance. That is all. Keep up the awesome story :)"

_BB is fiercely loyal to his Raven. I could never see him cheating on her._

**TheBeezKneez** - "Lol, it would be awkward if Garfield choose Britain 'Hint hint' Jk"

_Actually, BB and Raven are going to take a trip to London_

**Toolazy** - "Luckkkyy! Rita is such a bitch. I love that you made it awkward with BB and Rae for their first time."

_I've always thought that stories where two virgins (or near virgins) make love like pros to be very unrealistic. In real life they don't know what they're doing._

**Bluedog197** - "OH REALLY NOW! let the epic cat fight begin! that was low even for her she has terra personality calling raven names i mean yes every mother wants to protect there son but i mean come on that was uncalled for and then judging her background that is sad but raven was awesome when she did not take it lying down she stood up and was fighting to win i wonder who he will choose and don't get me started on robin.. it's not a trap he says where going he says but heck no not in this lifetime. but great story and plot the perfect amount of drama and romance plus fluff it too good to be true cant wait to see what happens next so keep at it."

_I like making Rita the harsh mother in law that poor Raven has to win over._

**Shadico** - "Oh goodness, I think i'm so used to LamontCranston's version of Rita that this portrayal came as a bit of a surprising shock. I've no doubt that Gar will choose Rae, but the drama that is sure to ensue because of Rota confronting Gar...dear Azar is this gonna be juicy. Good on Rae for keeping her cool under that unjust berating. Have fun at Comic Con! Hope you're cosplaying as something! Always more fun if you do. Can't wait for the next chapter!"

_No slutty Rita in this story. And Comic Con was a blast._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Yeah man it's like The Good Fight all over again. And well I think Raven is thinking "U MAD RITA?" cos she's going to marry Garfield. But I do have a bad feeling that Nightwing will probably gut the BoE members like how Roy gutted the Electrocutioner for letting Star City go to hell and let his daughter die."

_There is some anger going around for sure._

**Primu** - "Great chapter! I remember how Rita used to be so sweet to Raven in the previous version. Now you make her meaner like the one from Carving in Stone (miss that story, you ought to keep it up). Looking forward to the next chap. P.S. Hopefully this Nightwing will not turn into a jerk as well."

_I am planning on rewriting Carved._

**Anoymous136** - "Oooohh, snap! Raven can dish out as well as she takes, girlfriend!Btw, me thinks the lady doth protest too much, if you know what I mean. *cough* Rita *cough*"

_Raven will fight for what is hers._

**JOHNXgambit** - "all boarding the S.S DISASTER have your carry on and tickets present please"

_No worries, this story won't be a train wreck like carved._

**DeeThom** - "This whole Rita/Raven thing is always one of my favorite part about your stories. Especially since people can't seem to get past their prejudices. I could understand if it was a personal thing for Rita, like if she was attacked by a demon or something, but it seems mostly unfounded. Like she just doesn't trust her son's judgment."

_A lot parents don't trust their adult children's judgement._

**krostovikraven1** - "Take that Nightwing! really? after all of they went thru and after knowing Gar was part of the Doom Patrol and knows better the Brotherhood, he still doubts i'm sorry to say but i understand Rita's position. Raven used to treat him bad, there is a grudge that any mother would hold against anyone mistreating her offspring, But she should keep it to herself. Not only she and Mento knew about them dating in the last year before disolving the team, but its been over ten years that apparently, they didnt even had contact. Heck! they didnt even went to his graduation. They dont know how much things have changed for them."

_I never got the feeling that Dick ever respected Gar in the show._

**titanfan45** - "Good job on Raven and Rita's "chat". Have fun at the comic-con."

_Thanks!_

**discb** - "Wow Rita... Have fun at the Con"

_Comic Con exceeded my expectations._

_**And now the Chapter 14 mailbag!**_

**Mortal Guardian** - "Like a review I left in your former version of this story, I see you kept the Narnian reference (from The Magician's Nephew) about a royal's duty. Glad you enjoyed yourself at the Comic Con, now get on with the story! (LOL)"

_That was such a good line; I would never take it out._

**The Cretin** - "Me and my wife used to cosplay. I went to a Comic Con as Ash from the Evil Dead...complete with fake shotgun...SHOP SMART...SHOP S-MART. Hmmm...just a word...I don't like Cy/Jinx. Sorry but I feel Sarah is the one for him. It's one of the few times I can recall the man ever being at peace. I find it funny that Immortus thinks the Titans will scatter. Considering that both Speedy and Donna Troy also served as Titan leaders and Cy has leadership skills as well. The part with Nightstar was heartwarming. I also liked the exchange between Gar and his parents. All in all, great chap. Sorry it took so long to catch up. Hope I can keep up from here to the end. See ya around Master Jedi."

_I'm not a Cyborg/Jinx shipper, and Khary didn't sound all that thrilled either!_

**Primu** – "Can't wait for the action ;) Wish i could attend Comicon in US once before I die (haha)."

_New ones keep popping up. The Denver Comic Con is only 2 years old._

**TW** – "I always wondered what Steve and Retia's reaction would be if they found out about Gar and Raven. Not every day that you here your adopted green shape shifting son is marrying a half demon."

_Now you know my interpretation!_

**krostovikraven1** - "that sounds like a great weekend. i guess Cyborg is more difficult to be dressed as. if they want to look close to real like the others, loved the chapter by the way. How Gar stood up to his parents and their prejudices. hopefully that will stop them from getting in their way."

_A Cyborg cosplay must be really hard to do._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** – "Well then the Titans will definitely give the Brotherhood a beating and routing that they'll never forget. And finally Gar now's got the balls to tell Mento and Rita a big fat "Balls To You!" To em. Heh typical of the BoE to nuke their old bases, so very cliche."

_Gar has grown up!_

**gabylokita41** – "Its nice to hear that u had fun at the comic con :) loved the chap i remember this part still like it anyways i love the way ur doing it this time around too even tho i read the original its great the way u keep us guessing what's ganna happen next either way ."

_Comic Con was fun!_

**Bluedog197** – "NOW THAT is what i call a destraction really great story but how dare mento and rita judge raven i mean yes they want to protect beastboy but not that way but beastboy stood up for his mate that is what i call love any way poor nightstar she want her parents to stay and see i told you she didnt like the apartment and a half breed how dare they and that was her family and now it time for some action. so great story and glad to hear you enjoyed comic con keep up the good work."

_BB is fiercely loyal to Raven._

**titanfan45** –" I'm glad that Garfield got the air cleared with his parents. He was right in telling them that they had not been a part of his life for so long and then to just appear and second guess his choice to marry Raven was unacceptable. At least they had the good graces to admit they were wrong. Thanks for the description of the comic-con, I definitely am going to have to attend one."

_You definitely should go to one!_

**Death Stroke The Kid** - "Rita and Mento can suck it. lol that's just my opinion. Things are warming up now :)"

_Evil in laws!_


	16. The Other Party

Before we start, I have some Titans comic book trivia to share. I just received my copy of the New Teen Titans Omnibus vol 3 (a huge and awesome book). In the show, perhaps one of the favorite lines for BBRae shippers is when BB tells Raven after Malchior broke her heart that "You think you're alone Raven, but you're not". That line came straight out of the comics, though it wasn't BB telling it to Raven. It was Jillian Jackson, BB's first girlfriend, who consoles him as he mourns Terra's death and betrayal in the Judas Contract arc.

Anyway, just thought you'd like to know that. Now onto the story!

_**-( scene break )-**_

Another limo drove down Bayside Avenue as the sun was setting over Jump City bay, pulling away from the hotel where Cyborg and the other male Titans were staying, since the original Tower was still a museum. Cyborg and Nightwing, along with Speedy, Mas y Menos and Aqualad sat in the cavernous passenger compartment. The archer cracked open a large cooler and pulled out several cans of beer, tossing them to his fellow passengers. Garfield shook his head when he offered him a brewski. Speedy kept the can for himself and opened it.

"What's the matter, Changeling?" He asked.

"I don't feel like having a beer. Where are you guys taking me anyway?"

"It's a surprise … now just sit down and relax … sure you don't want a beer?"

"Oh … OK." He reluctantly accepted a can.

The limo continued to advance through the city, until it pulled off the street and into a parking lot. Gar peered through the limo's dark windows and saw a neon sign the boldly announced their destination: "The Musk Ox – A Gentleman's Club." A smaller sign below it announced "Closed for Private Party – Please come back tomorrow to see Jump's best ladies show it all"

"Seriously? You're taking me to a stripper joint … wow … that's classy. Nothing like celebrating my upcoming marriage with a bunch of drunken strangers watching nasty, skanky girls doing some pole dancing."

"Hey! First of all we reserved the place for ourselves … it's a private party. And the Musk Ox has the best looking girls in town." Speedy explained.

"Why am I not surprised that you know that?" Garfield frowned.

"Lighten up Gar; you don't want to be known as the Titans' Boy Scout, do you?" Speedy snickered.

"Where did you think we were gonna take you, Disneyland?" Aqualad guffawed.

"I'd rather go there than here."

"Oh come on B, this is tradition we're talking about." Cyborg cajoled him. "And Speedy's right, the girls here are pretty."

The changeling sighed. Short of running away there was no way he was going to get out of this.

"Whatever." He replied as his friends led him into the establishment.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"You're inviting us to join the Justice League?"

Wonder Woman's face betrayed a hint of surprise. "Us?"

"Yeah … us. The invitation is also for Garfield, right?"

Diana began to hem and haw.

"Raven, don't take this the wrong way … I know that Garfield has a stellar track record with the Doom Patrol and the Titans … but …"

"But what?" Raven hissed at her.

"Look, we all like Changeling … but … he just isn't Justice League material … I'm sorry."

Raven glared at the Amazon princess.

"Then I'm not interested."

"Are you serious? Raven, you have some amazing gifts. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life running that little antique shop?"

"I'm dead serious. We're a package deal. Either you take both of us or I won't even consider your offer."

"But Raven, we need you in the League. Do you have any idea of how underrepresented women are in the Justice League? Well, I'll tell you! There are ten men for every female member!"

"Oh, I see, I'm an Affirmative Action candidate then."

"What? No! Of course not! Raven, you stand on your own. You are a formidable super hero; you are wanted in the League, by everyone, you'd be an awesome addition. Is it really that big of a deal if Changeling isn't invited to join?"

"Yes it is."

Diana groaned. "Why? Oh Raven, don't tell me you're afraid of upstaging him? Is he really that insecure?"

Wonder Woman's accusation stung, but Raven's face did not betray her irritation.

"Listen … princess … I'm getting married this weekend. The last thing I want to do is spend endless amounts of time away from my husband. Call me crazy, but I would like to sleep with him every night, have breakfast with him every morning, be with him, you know, do couple stuff … oh wait … you wouldn't know about that, would you?"

This time it was the Amazon's turn to glare at the not so veiled insult. "Raven, even if Changeling joined the League there's no way you would be guaranteed to stay together during missions. That's not how the League works."

"Then that settles it, I'm not interested."

Diana became red faced. "I don't believe this; you're turning down League membership for a man?"

"You don't get it, do you? I'm not turning membership in your precious club for a man; I'm turning it down for MY man. Now if you'll excuse me …"

Raven turned back towards her table and grimaced at the sight that greeted her. Jinx and Argent were talking with one of the muscle bound, well oiled and half dressed waiters. Argent pointed at Raven and the Chippendale guy looked her way, smiling seductively while Jinx gestured at Raven to come. Starfire and Kole were seated at the table and both looked mortified.

"I don't believe this …" Raven seethed. "I'm out of here."

A dark portal opened beneath her and she sank into the floor.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Garfield sipped his Black Russian half heartedly while a voluptuous and completely naked blond performed her pole dance to some loud and rhythmic music. He didn't seem to notice her at all as he stared vacantly into infinity. She completed her performance and turned to face the special superhero audience before her. Unlike with the ladies the men were dressed in their superhero uniforms and the buck naked dancer blew kisses at them before departing the stage.

"And that was Miss Bambi, who was voted Miss Musk Ox in April …" A disembodied female voice announced over the speakers. "Sit tight boys, there's still more to come."

"Come on Gar, this isn't a funeral … enjoy yourself." Nightwing reprimanded him.

The changeling took a small sip from his drink, not even bothering to look at the stage.

"C'mon man, at least look at them."

"Why?"

One of the waitresses, who all were also strippers approached Nightwing and whispered something in his ear. The masked hero grinned and thanked the waitress.

"Alright Changeling, the next girl, you're gonna like her … it's guaranteed!"

"Yeah, right …"

Once again the music started playing, but it wasn't the usual strip tease music, it was the theme song from the cartoon show about them that Cyborg liked so much. An impatient moan escaped Gar's lips.

"OK guys … this is beyond lame."

"Sit tight green jeans, you're in for a treat!"

The lights on the stage dimmed and the curtain in the back parted. A silhouetted figure emerged and approached the pole. When the lights came back on the changeling dropped his drink, the glass shattered on the floor.

A girl in a hooded blue cloak stood before him. Her face was shrouded under her hood.

"Raven?" He croaked. His companions began to hoot and cheer.

The cloaked girl turned around so that her back was to them. In a swift gesture using both hands she lowered her hood, revealing her violet locks. Gar continued to stare in abject horror. The girl, still with her back towards her audience, began to prance around the stage, make provocative gestures with her body.

"Take it off, Raven!" Aqualad hollered. "Take it all off."

The dancer parked herself in front of the pole and with another swift gesture she removed her blue cape and tossed it aside. She was wear a bra and a thong, which revealed her gray gluteus, which were perfectly shaped. Gar continued to stare, paralyzed in his disbelief. It couldn't possibly be her, but she was the right size, color and shape, right down to her butt cheeks.

Finally the girl turned around and raised her arms, eliciting a cheer from the small group, except for Garfield, who finally saw her face. He rose to his feet, his face red with indignation.

"STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" He bellowed in a savage voice which Speedy later recalled sounding like a lion's roar.

The girl, who had begun her pole dance, stopped dead in her tracks. The changeling's eyes were red and he pointed at her.

"HOW DARE YOU!? HOW DARE YOU PRETEND TO BE HER!"

The dancer locked eyes with him and her jaw became slack. She pointed at Cyborg. "It was his idea."

"GET HELL OUT OF HERE!"

She didn't need to be told twice. She picked up her props and ran off the stage as two burly bouncers approached the changeling.

"It's OK, guys, we got it under control." Cyborg waved the bouncers off. "Plus you would never be able to take him; he'd kick your asses with both hands tied behind his back."

The bouncers sized up the small changeling, doubting the Tin Man's warning. After a brief pause they grudgingly backed off while the green professor turned to the Tin Man.

"Is this your idea of a joke? Do you think this is funny?"

"Oh come on, B, it was just a prank."

"Not. Funny."

"Come on Changeling, you've been a buzzkill all night, what's your problem? These girls are all smoking hot, and you gotta admit, that last girl could be a body double for Raven." Speedy chortled in his semi drunken stupor.

Without saying a word Garfield left the room. Cyborg ran after him, but as soon as he was outside, the changeling had vanished. The Tin Man dropped an F bomb. The evening wasn't supposed to turn out this way and now he had no idea of where Garfield was.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven sat on the Tower's roof top, with her legs dangling over the ledge. The city's lights twinkled in the distance. She hadn't sat up there in eight years and she somehow felt back at home, even though the Tower was now a museum. She was sitting in the very spot where she and Beast Boy would sit after dinner during their last year as Titans. She remembered how badly she wanted to kiss him back then and how she lacked the nerve to try something as innocent and sweet as a smooch. Of course he was no better back then, he was just as shy and awkward himself.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here."

Raven looked up and saw her green fiancé sit down next to her.

"This was our spot." She replied in her monotone.

"Yeah, those were good times."

Except that neither of us had the nerve to confess." She replied.

He smiled at her as he took her hand. "We were a couple of shy kids."

"We were … so what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing … I guess I'll go first … they took me to a stripper joint."

"My party wasn't all that different, except it was on a night cruise."

"So, lots of beefcake, huh?"

"You could smell the illegal steroids in the air."

Gar laughed. "So why did you bail?"

"Long story short … We played a stupid game of truth, where everyone confessed who their first lover was. When they found out that I've only been with you they tried to hook me up with one of the Chippendale guys."

"You mean a male prostitute? What were they thinking? Where they on crack?"

"No, they were all drunk. Then Wonder Woman showed up and invited me to join the Justice League."

"SHE DID!? Rave, that's awesome!"

"I turned her down."

"You did? Why?"

"You weren't included in the invitation."

"I wasn't?" His voice drooped. "Well … so what? You'd be in the Justice League, the majors, you'd be running with the big boys and girls."

"Maybe, but that would mean that I would away, a lot … too much in fact … I'd rather be a shopkeeper and go to bed with you every night … professor."

Gar smiled sheepishly. "Thanks Rave, you always know what to say."

"I know." She smirked. "So why did you bail?"

"They had a stripper dressed up like you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really … plus it was boring."

"Having naked girls cavorting before you was boring?"

"Of course it was … I'd much rather see you naked."

"Did I ever tell you that you're a smooth talker?"

"Maybe once or twice." He replied. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know … I don't want to go back to our place, everyone will be there."

"I know what you mean … Hey, I have an idea … I know where we can go and no one will bother us."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The sun was rising over the bay, casting its amber glow which shimmered on the water's smooth surface. An aura of peace and tranquility hovered over the bay while a single tugboat was passing under the signature bay bridge.

Unfortunately in Raven's apartment above Azarathia things were not quite so serene. After the engaged Titans ditched their parties their friends tried, in vain, to find them. The search progressed through the entire night and they remained empty handed. Cyborg was running the command center from Raven's living room, fretting about the events from the night before. All of the Titans who could fly were out searching for the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ and were becoming frustrated with their lack of success.

"What were we thinking?" He grumbled.

"I don't see what you're so worried about. I'm sure they'll come back. Maybe they're together."

"That's what I'm worried about."

"I don't follow." Jinx raised an eyebrow.

"If they found each other, they might have chosen to elope."

"So?"

"So … we've been putting a big wedding together for them. Hundreds of guests are coming. We even borrowed the old Tower from the National Parks Service for the wedding; it's been closed to the public for a week."

"You worry too much."

Before Cyborg could rebuke her, there was an incoming call. It was Starfire.

"I have found them."

He heaved a huge sigh of relief. "About time … where the hell were they?"

"They were and are still asleep in Raven's room."

"Wait a minute … Star, we checked Raven's room here in the house. They aren't here."

"No, Cyborg … not in the house."

"Then where? You said they were in Raven's room … ohhh!"

Jinx looked perplexed. "Where are they?"

Cyborg smiled. "They're in Raven's old room in the Tower … Star … let them sleep, they'll come back when they're ready ... I hope."

"That would be a good idea. I do not wish to wake them … I believe that they are not wearing any clothes."

"What a bunch of party poopers!" Jinx complained. "We had all kinds of fun set up for them and what do they do? They run away and bonk each other. Pfft! They'll have plenty of time to do that later aftere the wedding."

"Should I leave them a note, telling them that we are sorry?" Starfire asked.

"Nah, they'll be back when they're good and ready … we'll apologize then … Cyborg out."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_The following Saturday …_

Raven swung the white cape around her shoulders and snapped its clasp shut. With a bit of trepidation she turned around and looked into the full length mirror that hung on the wall in her room. The last time she wore an entirely white ensemble was the day she vanquished her father. Unlike the outfit she wore on that long distant day she was wearing a long skirt instead of her signature leotard. Her gray face and long violet hair stood out in harsh contrast to the snow white outfit.

Today was the day. Cyborg and Starfire took it upon themselves to do all the organizing and had to call in more than a few favors to get things done and reserved on such short notice, but they pulled it off. Nightwing used some of his clout to borrow the old Tower in Jump City Bay for the special day, and media helicopters were buzzing around the Jump City landmark, much as they did years before when Starfire and the newly minted Nightwing tied the knot in a very public celebration. This time however the media was not invited, Raven made sure that was clear and understood by everyone. That of course didn't mean that the helicopters wouldn't push it as they flirted with the boundaries of the Tower's "no fly zone" which the government had temporarily set to a one mile radius for the day.

Raven was standing in what used to be her old room. The velvet ropes were absent and for a moment it felt as if time had not passed at all and that she was still a Teen Titan. But time had indeed passed and she saw a 28 year old version of herself in the mirror, and she didn't like what she saw.

Brides were supposed to be radiant and beautiful and Raven felt she was neither. Part of it was her own fault she realized, as she refused to wear a traditional frilly wedding dress. Kole, Starfire, Jinx and Bumblebee made multiple attempts to change her mind and she refused every single time, saying that a traditional wedding gown wasn't her style. As she stared at her reflection she realized that she was right, the plain white dress and cape fit her personality to a tee: it was plain and boring, as monotone and unexpressive as her voice.

With every minute that passed Raven found she was feeling more and more agitated. She looked at clock on the wall as saw that there was still nearly an hour to go before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. A veritable eternity in her mind, one that she wasn't certain she could endure.

She walked over to her old bed, where her suitcase was resting. She left her old furniture behind for a reason, and it wasn't for the museum's benefit. When the Titans broke up she decided that she was going to turn over a new leaf, and that meant leaving behind the creepy furniture that identified her as a witch. She always hated being called a witch, in the old days it had been the local tabloids' favorite description for her. They always referred to the other 4 Titans by their hero names, but she was always the 'grey witch' in the sensationalist and libelous tabloids.

Raven sighed. Maybe they were right after all, as all she saw in the mirror was a gray sorceress, a witch. A foul tempered witch with a reputation of being mean spirited and abusive towards the man she was going to marry the within the next hour. Of course the tabloids were having a field day with that and published endless unflattering stories and pictures detailing her past treatment of the Teen Titan once known as Beast Boy. What made it worse was the fact that the stories and pictures were all true. The worst ones were the photos and video footage from Tokyo of her actually hitting and slapping him while she sported a cruel smirk on her face. Of course during their final year as Titans she repeatedly begged him for his forgiveness, which he always granted with a warm smile.

In the end it didn't matter that he had forgiven her. As she looked once again at her reflection it was evident as the chakra stone on her forehead: she was turning into a basket case.

She opened her suitcase and rummaged carefully through it until she found her meditation mirror, which she lifted out of the piece of luggage. She didn't look into it right away, wondering if it really was a good idea to venture into Nevermore a mere hour before the wedding. She had resisted the urge to venture into the recesses of her mind as the wedding day approached, but now that it was imminent she was beginning to think that she was about to come apart at the seams. She closed her eyes and began to repeat her mantra, over and over, until her heart rate slowed down and her breathing became calm.

Feeling she was now ready she opened her eyes and stared into the mirror, at first seeing only her own natural reflection, but after a moment her reflection vanished and she was able to see the dark starry skies of Nevermore. She felt a slight tug and did not resist as it gently drew her in. She floated down from the sky like a snowflake and when she landed she only found Wisdom waiting for her.

"Greetings Raven, you have returned. You have a question, if I am not mistaken."

Raven stared at the emoticlone with a blank expression before asking the question in her monotone.

"Am I making a mistake? Will I be a good spouse?"

Wisdom removed her glasses and cleaned them with her cape. Once she was done, she replied.

"Garfield seems to think you will be a good spouse. Do you not trust his judgment?"

"What if … what if I let him down? What if I disappoint him?"

"What is it you are concerned about?"

Raven shuffled on her feet, clearly feeling uncomfortable and not wishing to answer the question.

"I've always been an emotional cripple. I am a demon after all…"

"Half demon." Wisdom corrected her. "Big difference, very big difference. You're also a woman Raven."

"I know, I just don't think I'm a very good woman."

"What a load!" Another voice interrupted.

Raven whirled around and saw that it was Brave.

"Am I good woman? Will he be happy with me? Will he want to be with me for the rest of his life?"

"Of course he will, why do you even ask? I guarantee you that he'll come to us every night, begging us for more." Brave harrumphed. "Heck, he already does. I'll tell you how happy he is: have you seen the size of his boner?"

Raven shook her head.

"That's not what I meant. I have no doubts that I'll eventually be able to please him sexually; I am a demoness after all. But that is a mere part of what being married is all about. It's the small things that concern me and my temper as well. I know I've come a long way from the days when I was always angry, but it's a burden that I always carry, and I constantly fear I will lose control."

Lust emerged from a growing crowd of emotions and walked up to Raven. She glared at her master before addressing her.

"I should have known you'd find a way to spoil our fun. We're finally gonna bag him as ours and ours alone and you start worrying about whether or not you're worthy of him. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"A lot of things are wrong with me." Raven replied weakly. "Gar deserves someone better than me …"

"Oh please … you mean like that traitor bitch Terra …" Rude interrupted. She then walked behind Raven and kicked her in the butt.

"What the Trigon was that for?"

"That's for being stupid. Look … I know that I'm nothing more than a boorish jerk, but Gar is the best thing that's ever happened to us. He's always been our friend and he loves us, and you know what Raven? We can't live without him and you know it, our life would be empty and void … we wanna have him … and he's our man, so get it through your thick skull, we're all gonna be happy. Understand?"

Raven's other emoticlones began to crowd around her, clamoring for her attention. They reflected the full spectrum of the disarray her mind was in, and she understood the folly of coming to Nevermore. She then fell someone tugging on her shoulders and heard her name being called out as if from far away.

Raven jerked and found herself back in her room.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Gar kept fussing with his bow tie, and with an exaggerated sigh he threw his hands into the air in defeat.

"These things are impossible to tie!" He groaned as he picked up the instructions sheet that came with the tie and tossed into a dustbin in his old room in the Tower.

Nightwing, who was also wearing a tux, approached him.

"Stand still, I'll do it for you. It really isn't that hard."

"Well duh, Alfred probably taught you how to do it."

"Who's Alfred?" Cyborg asked. He too was wearing a tux, perhaps the biggest one Gar had ever seen.

"A friend." Nightwing replied evasively.

"That's right, I forgot, the grass stain knows your secret identity, but I don't." The tin man complained.

"Cy, we've been over this, I can't tell you who I am without revealing Batman's identity."

Cyborg poured himself a drink, which he consumed in a single gulp.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand. That doesn't mean I have to like it though …"

"Look, if it was up to me you'd know."

"Forget it … hey green bean … you sure you don't want any scotch, this is the good stuff, single malt. It costs $100 a bottle."

Nightwing finished the tie and stepped back.

"There you go; even Alfred couldn't have done it better."

"Thanks. And no Cy, no booze now, there'll be plenty at the reception."

Cyborg chuckled.

"Are you nervous B? You're getting married to our Raven after all."

Gar sat down on the lower bunk.

"Yeah, I'm nervous ... way nervous."

"Well, you don't have to worry about anything; I've taken care of it all: the judge, caterers, the band, the guest list, I even booked you guys a private island in the Caribbean for your honeymoon. Complete privacy, you guys can do it on the beach if you want."

"I don't think that's our style Cy, but that's not why I'm nervous."

"Then why are you worried?" Nightwing asked.

Gar fidgeted with his fingers, clearly stalling, until finally he cleared his throat.

"You guys have heard of the expression 'marrying up', right?"

Nightwing laughed.

"Have I heard of it? Gar, in case you've forgotten, I'm married to a princess. I'm a circus brat, I married WAY up, so far up that I get nose bleeds."

"I know, so I'll guess you'll understand …"

"What? Oh come on B, you aren't telling us that you think Raven is too good for you? Look, I just upgraded my processors and their impartial analysis is that you guys are made for each other."

"So what's the problem?" Nightwing added.

"Well … you guys know that Raven is smarter and more powerful than me."

Nightwing laughed.

"Gar, you're a doctor, a DVM. That takes some brains."

"I know, I'm not stupid. I used to act dumb when we were younger, but Raven, she has such an awesome mind … you know … the only reason I got all those degrees … it was to impress her … so she would know that I wasn't an idiot. It was the least I could do; after all I'll never be able to match her powers."

"Well I think it worked grass stain, or should I call you Dr. Grass Stain? Haven't you noticed that when she introduces you to people she always calls you 'Dr. Garfield Logan' and sometimes she even mentions that you have two doctoral degrees. She's proud of you man, but more than that, she loves you. What more do you want? She's smart, smoking hot and she adores you."

"Sometimes it seems too good to be true."

"But it is true, Gar. Anyway, it's time. Your woman is waiting for you; it's time to make her yours." Nightwing remarked.

As they got up from their chairs Nightwing inspected Gar's attire one last time and nodded his approval.

"Go get her, Tiger."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven jerked and found herself back in her room.

"Were you in Nevermore again?"

Raven turned in the voice's direction and found herself staring into Jinx's cat like irises. The enchantress, along with Starfire, Kole and Karen were wearing the hideous dresses that maids and matrons of honor always wore.

"Were you?" Kole needled her.

"So what if I was?" She replied defensively

"Raven … you go to Nevermore … when you are … troubled." Starfire asked in her still halting English.

"Are you upset girl? You aren't getting cold feet, are you?" Karen asked.

Raven sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed.

"No, not cold feet … I'm just … worried."

"If it's any consolation Raven, I had butterflies in my stomach when I married Wally. Getting hitched is a big commitment after all."

"It's not that, Jinx."

"Then what is it?" Kole asked.

Raven shook her head, clearly in shame.

"It's pathetic actually … I just don't think I can make him happy … that's all."

Jinx laughed.

"Listen Raven, if you're worried that he doesn't enjoy making love with you, I'll let you in on a little secret … men always like it. They can even be ill and they still like it. Trust me girl, he'll be asking for it every night … I guarantee it. He hasn't given you any indication that he doesn't enjoy it, has he? Of course the real question is has he been able to satisfy you?"

"That's not what I'm talking about, Jinx."

"Oh, so no troubles in the bedroom, that's good."

"Actually, it hasn't been all that great."

Jinx stifled a laugh.

"You're kidding? How many times have you guys done it?"

"Twice."

"Just two times? No wonder you're nervous. Relax Raven, it'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about sex, Jinx; I'm half demon in case you've forgotten. Half my psyche is going berserk in anticipation of tonight."

"Then what are you worried about?" Jinx asked in a more serious tone. The expressions on the other three women's faces betrayed their concern as well.

Raven stood up and walked to the ceiling to floor windows in her old room and stared at the view outside. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The waters in the bay shimmered as the sunlight danced on them. It was the picture of bliss and tranquility, which was the exact opposite of how she was feeling at the moment.

"Will I be a good companion? Will I honor him as he honors me? Will I be able to keep my demonic anger and temper in check? Will I be … a good spouse?"

Starfire cleared her throat.

"Nobody is perfect Raven and … Gar knows this … he knows you … he knows who you are … he understands that you are not like me, or Kole, or Karen or Jinx … you are you … he knows you and he loves you … is that not enough?"

"I know, and it should be enough. But I know myself. I am darkness …"

"That's not true Raven." Kole interrupted. "Yes, there is darkness within you, but you are not darkness. We all have darkness within us."

Raven pondered their words.

"It's so hard … and so frightening to trust myself."

"But we trust you." Bumblebee remarked. "And so does your man and that means a lot. I should know, I lost, no, I threw away the trust of the man I love. Don't make that mistake Raven. You have a soul mate, few women are so lucky."

The clock on the wall chimed.

"It's time." Kole announced. "We'd better get going"

"Are you ready Raven?" Starfire asked.

Raven walked back from the windows to her friends.

"I am, thank you friends." She replied as she raised her hood.

"Oh no you don't. You're not getting married with your hood up." Karen bellowed.

"But I don't have a veil."

"You do not need one." Starfire replied as she placed a crown of flowers on her friend's head.

"There, that is much … better."

Raven turned once again to the mirror and looked. The ring of flowers was exquisite in both its colors and its simplicity. It was natural and unpretentious, yet it was also delicate and lovely. And that was when Raven noticed it: she looked beautiful and radiant. She looked like a bride. She smiled at her reflection before turning around.

"I'm ready Gar, I am so ready."

_**-( scene break )-**_

That wedding was held outdoors in a simple civil ceremony. The Doom Patrol was seated in the front row along with the Graysons. Cyborg was the best man and Nightstar levitated next to him, holding a velvet pillow that had the two wedding bands resting on them.

The ceremony was exceedingly brief, which was at Raven's request. No bridal procession was played. No one gave her away, as she insisted that she was giving herself away. The spurning of tradition did not go unnoticed by Rita, who grumbled to her spouse.

"I wasn't expecting a secular ceremony."

"Now dear, Raven isn't Catholic or even Christian. You weren't expecting them to have a wedding Mass now, were you?" Steve chided her.

"Maybe I was." She fumed.

"This was a compromise, Rita. Sure, they didn't get married in a church, but they also didn't get married in Raven's religion … whatever that is."

"I don't even want to think about it, she's a witch." She replied.

"Come on, that's not true, she's a nice girl. They're going to be happy together."

"I liked Bette Kane better."

"Flamebird? She's a flake and mediocre superhero as well. They only dated for a few weeks that summer, and that was years ago. He only likes her as a friend. It was nice of her to come to the wedding, but she would have been wrong for Garfield."

Rita sighed.

"It's OK Steve; I've come to terms with Raven being the mother of my grandchildren."

"Give her time; we'll learn to love her, you'll see."

Rita piped down just in time for the ceremony. Gar and Raven proceeded down the aisle together, arm in arm. Once they reached the justice of the peace, the Hon. Marcia Lewis, the ceremony began. The judge greeted the guests and gave a brief history of the vocation of marriage in western culture, after which she went straight into the minimal ceremony. The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ exchanged their vows of fidelity and permanence to each other, swearing to forsake all others and to remain together until they were separated by death. After the rings were placed on their fingers and they shared a tender kiss the judge announced:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Garfield and Raven Logan."

Rita raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so his name was good enough to take after all." She grumbled under his breath.

"Let it go." Mento warned her in a quiet but dangerous voice.

Rita began to take pictures of the newlyweds exchanging their first kisses as husband and wife. Other cameras flashed while the entire assembly, which consisted of the extended Titans family and a legion of Justice Leaguers rose to their feet and began to applaud. Soon there was cheering and whistling.

Raven and Gar had their arms wrapped around each other while they soaked it all in. Raven smiled brightly as she watched her friends and comrades cheer and hoot their approval. She looked into her husband's green eyes.

"I love you." She whispered to him.

"I love you too, Mrs. Logan." He whispered back to her.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The reception was a more traditional affair. There was of course the ubiquitous multitier cake, complete with a gray bride and a green groom on top. Raven decided to be a good sport and went through with the local traditions: they cut the cake and fed each other a slice, Raven tossed her bouquet and Bumblebee caught it. And, to everyone's great surprise they shared the first dance, which they did with great aplomb and grace, after which they were joined in dance by most of their friends.

Vic was sitting alone at the table of honor, discussing when to start serving the dinner with the caterers when Bumblebee showed up and sat down next to him in a chair that was reserved for Kole. She waited patiently for the discussion to end.

"How're you doing Sparky?"

Cyborg kicked back in his oversized chair, putting his arms behind his head, and he smiled.

"Pretty good, actually. Star and I were able to get this all organized in just two weeks."

"I'll bet it wasn't easy."

"You got that right, but you know what the biggest problem was? Raven doesn't have any papers. No birth certificate, no passport, no nothing. And since Azarath was destroyed it's not like she could get a birth certificate from there. And without any means of legal identification … no marriage license. Fortunately Nightwing and the Justice League were able to pull some strings. The President granted Raven citizenship through an executive order and she was given a certificate of naturalization. Problem solved."

"How come I didn't hear about this?"

"We decided to keep it under wraps. Worse come to worse we would have had a mock ceremony and had it regularized later. But the last thing we wanted was for those vultures in their helicopters to find out."

Karen nodded her head.

"You're a good friend Sparky, you always have been."

"Well … I try." He grinned back at her. "So what's going on in your world?"

Karen suddenly became very quiet.

"Vic, I know that this is going to sound really pathetic …"

"What do you mean Karen?"

"After what I did to you, I have no right to ask this … but … will you take me back?"

Cyborg sighed.

"Are you sure that you want to be a robot's girlfriend?"

"You're not a robot. I know I said that when I dumped you, after cheating on you, but I was a stupid kid when I did that."

"You were also the leader of the Titans East."

"Yeah, I was, until they found out what I did to you. To this day they still won't talk to me. They won't even considering reforming the Titans East."

Cyborg gave her a very serious look.

"I don't know Karen. You really hurt me back then. I did forgive you and I'm OK with us being friends, but now you're asking me to trust you with my heart again …"

"I know, and I swear I'll be yours forever … I know I don't deserve your trust … just give me another chance … please?"

Cyborg closed his eyes. Deep down he knew he still loved her. And his lack of romantic success at Star Labs still haunted him. Part of him wanted to say yes, but he was still wounded, and not only by her past infidelity.

"Someone else hurt me not too long ago. I'm not saying 'no' Karen, but right now I'm not ready."

She took his metallic hand with her two smaller hands and placed it over her heart.

"Can you feel it Victor? It beats for you and no one else."

"Will you break my heart again? Remember Terra? She broke BB's heart 3 times; I know I couldn't handle that. I need someone I can trust, someone like …"

"Like Raven." Bumblebee completed his sentence. "Sparky, I can be like her, 100% reliable and true, please believe me, that mistake, it was an aberration. That won't ever happen again. I swear!"

Cyborg turned his head towards the improvised dancing floor that was in the middle of the common room. With his bionic eye he zoomed in on the Logans who were still slow dancing. He could see the happiness that they exuded and felt a twinge of jealousy. He knew that they were going to spend the next week together in a tropical paradise. He knew that they both suffered a great deal in their lives and he was genuinely happy for them, but their happiness also served to remind him that he was alone and unattached. Karen had matured into a very attractive woman and the thought of making love with her under the stars on a private beach was beginning to sound fairly enticing to him. He shook the thought away when he saw that they stopped dancing and shared a kiss as they headed back to the table. Cyborg watched as they returned.

"Hey, Tin Man, why aren't you dancing? You even have a pretty lady sitting next to you and she looks bored." Gar teased him.

Cyborg replied with a shy smile and he stood up. He offered his hand to Bumblebee and she eagerly accepted it. As they began to walk away to the dance floor he whispered to his dance partner.

"How about we restart the Titans East?" He asked her. "That could be our first step."

He saw a tear dripping down her cheek.

"I'd love to do that Sparky. Thank you."

Raven and Gar watched their friends enter the dance floor and join the others in the slow dance.

"What do you think Gar? Will they get back together?"

"I don't know, I guess I hope so. I know what it's like to be betrayed. You remember how I got when Terra pretended to not know me and then she told me to go away."

"Gar, I know I won't be a perfect spouse, but you know that I'll always be yours. I'll never break your heart. I swear by Azar herself."

He took her hand and squeezed it.

"I know."

He then gave her a sly grin.

"Rave, I think we've been here long enough. How about we slip away now and …"

"Do some consummating as husband and wife? I thought you'd never ask, Dr. Logan."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Phew! That was a long chapter! Let me know what liked best about it.

And now it's mail bag time.

**Guest** - "*my pen name is Demon Girl* NOOOOOOO! I DESPISE YOU CLIFFHANGER! Please update soon! (And I really hope Raven CAN have kids, she can do a way better job raising them than her own parents raised her) I already followed and favorite this (but you can't tell since a don't have an actual account but can fav and follow stuff on this fanfiction app) SO UPDATE PLEASE!"

_Thanks! You should open a fanfic account, it's easy!_

**gabylokita41** - "U were right that was new still liked it a lot tho its a great story u have there loved it can't wait to see the other party :)"

_BB's party was an even bigger disaster! Maybe they should have taken him to Disneyland._

**titanfan45** - "Garfield did a fine job leading the team as always. Raven's bachelorette party was well done, especially when Wonder Woman defused a potentially bad situation fueled by alcohol. I believe this was the first time that Raven and Wonder Woman weren't at odds in one of your stories!"

_I think you're right! Though that changed in this chapter_

**DeeThom** - "I hate how Raven seems to be so easily convinced to do things. I know it's part of the story or whatever but I wish she'd be able to stick to her guns. Just something I've noticed with her and others, especially Bumblebee and Starfire."

_I'd say that she stuck to her guns; she didn't give into peer pressure._

**WishToBeUSomeday** - "I wonder if ravens gonna say yes to wonder woman when she asked raven if she wanted to join the justice league omg cant wait till the next chapter!"

_Well, now you know what she said._

**Purplepox63010** - "Lol interested in joining the justice league. Hmmmm. Well. Yes."

_It sounds like Raven is done with being a superhero. At least for now._

**Bluedog197** - "DUDE to much for words my brain is at a stand still but awesome story nice party idea and how sweet beastboy is saving raven in his beast form great story and goodbye to the brotherhood. but keep it up dude cant wait to see what happens next."

_They are pretty busy, aren't they?_

**The Cretin** - "Is Control Freak a BBRae shipper on deck? Cause he was hilarious. I'm surprised about Kitten, but I never cared for Fang. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Raven does not partake in meaningless, casual sex. In fact, she's terrified of sex. She's the product of a demonic rape and that has forever left her with a scarred, see-saw view toward the subject. I do think it was in poor taste for her friends to think they could do that. It's heavily implied that Gar and Rae were intimate during Henderson's run on the Titans and if they were, then that means it literally took them years to get to that point even after they established romantic interest in each other. It's remarkable Gar showed that much restraint and consideration in canon. All in all, a great chap. I thought it was really well put together. Can't wait to read the next one."

_Yeah, in the comics they were never clear about whether Raven and BB ever did the deed. They sure weren't shy with Grayson and Star, plenty of photo ops of them in the sack, but not a single one of BBRae!_

**TW** - "Liked the party scene. Didn't see Kitten and Fang coming, maybe you should do a spin off about there story."

_Hope you like BB's party too._

_Death Stroke The Kid_ - "Wow, lots of twists in this chapter, kitten and fang for one was very interesting, but its nice to see Raven not even think about cheating. I hope the same goes for Gar"

_I think Raven is very loyal, though I portrayed her as a cheater in the now defunct Carved in Stone, which I am going to rewrite some day. BTW, I did see a kid dressed as Deathstroke at Comic Con!_

**Anoymous136** - "It's interesting what you did with Diana's and The League's invitation since in the comics, Raven wasn't welcomed for the same reasons as Rita not liking her."

_That's right! Which is why she helped found the New Teen Titans._

**JOHNXgambit** - "the SS DISASTER joke was in regards to rita and raven relationship,I have no doubt in my mind the story will rock. sure rita's reaction wasn't cool but its not surprising rita and mento are a don't miss sunday couple so when they hear their son is marrying a half demoness that is the physical embodiment of the sin pride and the daughter of the closest thing to satan then yes there's going to be some friction. I'm glad rita didn't break out the holy water and try an exorcism"

_Rita is going to struggle with accepting Raven. Once Coraline is born (oops! did I say that?) Rita will warm up to her._

**glittergurl022** - "Omfg I loved this chapter!"

_I hope you loved this one too!"_

**Shadico** - "There is no way Rae would say yes to that proposal...right? I mean, why would she? She has a nice life, and now gets to spend her time with Gar. They haven't even gotten married yet. If she did, she'd be an on-call grunt for the JL and really, what kind of post marriage relationship would that lead to if Gar was just being a regular civilian? Though if Gar were to get back into it as well, that'd probably be fine. Can't wait for the next chapter!"

_You pretty much read my mind._

**watchoutforfallingdinosaurs** - "I love this story! Starfire is, as usual, the best friend that Raven could ask for. And I'm really excited to see where you take this Wonder Woman/JL twist!"

_Unfortunately it was just a small side story, more of an artifact to illustrate Raven's devotion to Gar._

**krostovikraven1** - "Poor Control Freak. bad timing to think about switching sides. ha, he even was happy that they were alive, specially Garfield."

_Control Freak is obsessed with the Titans. I always got a feeling on the show that he really wants to be a member of the Team. As Aqualad pointed out, he acts more like a fanboy than an enemy._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "That's why never ever attend bachelor parties, oh and how nice of Diana to pop by and send Raven the invite to the JLA. Was surprised you forgot to add in Donna on the bachelorette party."

_It was confusing enough with the three Batgirls. I have been wondering, what happened to Stephanie in the New 52 when Babs out the cowl back on?_

**discb** - "That bit with Control's approval got me to laugh really hard."

_I think he's the best OC bad guy on the show_


	17. What Rage Really Wants

A soft breeze wafted in through the open window, gently rustling the drapes. The sound of birds chirping outside contrasted with the sound of light traffic cruising down Grape Street on Sunday morning. The window faced west so the sun did not shine through it and the closed curtains kept the room darkened.

The room's quiescence was interrupted as Raven softly moaned as she woke up. She opened her eyes and saw the she was in her room in the apartment above Azarathia. Still feeling disoriented she began to wonder if everything had been but a dream, a happy dream but a falsehood nonetheless.

As she continued to become lucid she noticed the silky feel of the satin sheets she recently purchased against her bare skin, satin sheets she purchased with a special occasion in mind. Suddenly she realized that she wasn't wearing anything, which was an interesting sensation for her as she didn't sleep au natural. It was then that she heard the soft sound of snoring next to her. She rolled over and saw him.

She smiled when she saw him sleeping peacefully with a subtle smile on his face. She also noticed that the only thing he was wearing was his wedding band, but best of all she knew for certain that none of it had been a dream.

Raven had insisted that they spend their wedding night at home, in their room and in their own bed. Her rationale was that a honeymoon suite in a luxury hotel was too impersonal a place to consummate the union of their love as husband and wife. And consummate they did, and this time the experience was different, as she experienced her first ever orgasm. The experience was electrifying; she remembered the sudden and very intense pleasure which came upon her with no warning. Her entire body tingled and goose bumps appeared on her arms, the sensation was both pleasant and at the same time it was agonizing. Without realizing it she began to scream her husband's name, asking him, no, begging him for more while at the same time she felt the delicious agony course through her body, unsure if she could handle any more of it and yet wishing for it to never end.

Now she understood all the fuss people made over sex.

The grandfather clock down the hall chimed 11 times. Raven gently sat up in the bed, not wishing to disturb the slumber of her green prince. Their flight to the Caribbean wouldn't be leaving until 5 that afternoon and their bags were already packed. Her head ached slightly and the two empty bottles of sparkling wine she saw in their respective ice buckets were the cause. Raven had never been a social drinker and she knew that last night she consumed far more than she normally did, which is why she needed to use the restroom.

She levitated and glided to it, her plan was to return to bed and snuggle up with him for a while longer, before finally getting up and getting ready for the trip.

As she emerged from the restroom she found that he was still asleep and glided her naked form back into the bed, curling up next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed happily as she closed her eyes. As she did that she heard a giggle in the deepest recesses of her mind. The voice was familiar, too easily recognized. Each of her emoticlones had a unique voice. Some, like wisdom and knowledge, sounded almost just like her, while others did not.

She heard the giggle again. This giggle wasn't high pitched; in fact it was the opposite. It was deep and guttural. That voice belonged to only one emoticlone: Rage.

Since when did Rage giggle?

Raven checked on her husband, who remained sound asleep. She decided that a quick side trip into Nevermore was in order … she had to find out what Rage was up to and why she was giggling, not only because she had intellectual curiosity but also because it sounded so creepy.

Raven pushed her bedcovers aside and sat up, adopting the Lotus position while completely in the buff. She closed her eyes and began to recite her mantra. Within a few moments she was standing in the green meadow in her mind. It was blooming with flowers, more like an explosion of them. The first thing she heard was joyful laughter. It wasn't Rage she heard, it was someone else, though she wasn't sure who it was, though she had her suspicions. She didn't have to wait long, as the laughing emoticlone soon made her appearance. It was Happy. And she was delirious. The emoticlone materialized in front of her and began to do cartwheels.

"We're married! He married us! He really did!"

"Did you have any doubt he would?" Raven replied.

"Of course not! That's Uncertainty's and Fear's job, not mine! If you're looking for them, good luck, no one's seen them since you married our Beastie Boo!"

"I'm not looking for them … I'm looking for Rage."

"She's somewhere around, I'm not sure where, cuz I don't care … I'm happy!"

"That's pretty much obvious … see you later."

"Bye, bye Ravie-poo, kiss Beastie Boo for me!"

The emoticlone vanished.

"Ravie-poo? Beastie boo? Is this the effect sex has on me? It turns me into a dithering idiot?"

Raven peered through the meadow, looking for Rage. There was no sign of the four eyed emoticlone, but she did hear the sound of martial art yells. She looked in the direction if the "hiyahs" and saw a familiar green caped emoticlone performing a kata. She calmly approached the emoticlone that Cyborg had once dubbed "Brave" and the warrior version of herself completed her form and returned to the ready position. When she saw Raven approach she ran to meet her, raising her right hand in an all too familiar gesture.

"High Five, Raven!"

The blue clad demoness reluctantly and very half heartedly raised her own hand and Brave completed the celebratory gesture with loud smack.

"We did it! Beastie Boo is all ours now!"

"His name is Garfield."

"And Beastie Boo is your pet name for him; it has been since you were a teen."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is, don't deny it Raven, you know that we are you, if we call him that, it's because of you."

"Why would I call him by such a silly pet name?"

"Because you wuv him?" Brave teased her. Raven rolled her eyes.

"I … 'wuv' him? Since when do I do cute? Isn't that more Starfire's thing?"

Brave ignored her challenge and instead vigorously punched Raven on the shoulder, laughing as she did it.

"Ow! … What was that for?"

"The orgasm, baby! Oh man, that was good, I thought we were gonna die, he just kept going and going like a green energizer bunny! And he was a quivering mess when we were done with him too. You should have seen his face, he looked like …"

"I was there, in case you've forgotten." Raven interrupted.

"Yeah, you were … so why are you here and not with him?"

"He's asleep and I came to see Rage."

Brave grinned. "About time, all she keeps blabbering about is angry sex … which sounds hot, if you ask me … so is that next for us?"

"No, it's not … so where is she?"

Brave pointed towards a small slope. "She's on the other side of that hill."

"Thanks." Raven replied as Brave faded away. As she glided up the hill she wondered if this was going to become a recurring event every time she made love with her husband. When she reached the top of the hill she found Rage. The four eyed emoticlone was lying on the pasture, her arms folded behind her head as she stared at the blue sky and was humming happily to herself. She noticed Raven's arrival and grinned, her serrated teeth glimmering in the sunshine.

"Good job, Raven … now that's what I call getting laid."

"There's more to a relationship than sex."

"Yeah, yeah … love, affection … all that bullshit, I'll leave that to the other girls, like Happy and Love … say, have you seen Lust anywhere … that girl and I have a lot to talk about."

"Like what?"

"Oral sex, for starters."

"No." Raven snapped at her.

"Aw, c'mon … it'll be fun."

"No, I won't engage in Sodomy."

"Now you sound like Knowledge …"

"It's not up for discussion."

"You know what you are? … You're a prude."

"No, I am not. Gar and I are working on a healthy sexual relationship, there's nothing prudish about that."

"You make it sound so clinical. You weren't so intellectual last night while he banged us. You kept screaming his name and telling him not to stop … who do you think was saying that Raven?" Rage smiled seductively.

"Yes, I know, it was you."

"You bet it was. You owe me, big time. I subdued all those party poopers who don't know how to enjoy a good roll in the hay."

"I don't need you to enjoy intercourse with my husband."

"Yeah, you go ahead and tell yourself that, just don't forget, since he's your husband, then he's mine too. You don't expect me to let Timid be in charge? Every time she sees his boner she freaks out. What does she think it's for anyway?"

"Gar is not a sexual plaything."

"He is for me, sister. As far as I'm concerned, love doesn't have anything to do with it."

Raven groaned while she face palmed. "Why do I always have to keep you in check? Why can't you just cooperate for once?"

"Because one, I'm Rage and two, I love getting laid … and so do you."

"Don't make me repress you."

"You wouldn't dare … if you do, sex will be dull again and if it is he might have to find someone else to please him, and you don't want that."

"You exaggerate, he would never do that."

Rage smiled maliciously. "Wanna bet?"

"You're crazy."

Rage smirked. "One word, Raven: Alexa."

Raven returned to the real world with a jerk. She was sweating and shaking. Garfield was still asleep. She slipped back under the covers, trying to calm herself, but no matter how hard she tried, there was a single word on her mind, a name that haunted her: Alexa.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The limousine pulled up to the gate that blocked the entrance to the private hangar section at Jump City Airport. A security guard with a clipboard emerged from the small gatehouse and approached the driver's window, which slid down silently, revealing the driver, which was a certain Victor Stone, once known to the locals as Cyborg. After checking his clipboard the guard raised the barrier, allowing the car to pass through.

Vic guided the limo down a road that passed by several hangars and he pulled into a parking spot in front of a hangar with a large number 7 stenciled on its door. As he parked the car all the limo's doors popped open and the passengers emerged: Victor and Karen from the front while Kole, Jericho, Jinx, Kid Flash, Nightwing, Starfire and Nightstar emerged from the rear. While Vic popped the trunk open and retrieved some luggage from it Gar stepped out of the limo and offering his hand to his brand new wife he helped Raven out of the limo.

As they entered the hangar they were greeted by the crew of yet another Wayne Enterprises business jet. Raven used her empathic powers to scan the crew and to her relief she sensed nothing unusual.

"Welcome aboard." The captain greeted them. "We can depart anytime at your convenience."

"Alright y'all, have a great honeymoon!" Cyborg cheered. "And we're sorry about the parties."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do … oh what am I saying … do whatever you want … it's your honeymoon." Jinx grinned. "And don't worry about the store, Wally and I run it while you're gone."

"And I'll save you a ton on delivery fees, since I'll hand deliver everything myself." Wally chortled.

"But he'll make up for it by eating all your food and then some." Jinx laughed.

The Logans shared a chuckle and hugged their friends goodbye, after which they boarded the jet. Cyborg and company watched the jet pull away from the hanger and taxi away. They stayed put and observed the airplane barrel down the runway and take off like a silver bird, soaring into the sky until it was no longer visible.

"They did it." Nightwing beamed. "They actually got married."

"Don't act so surprised bird boy, we all knew it was inevitable, who else but our Beast could tame and eventually win our little demoness's heart? In my opinion the only surprise is that it took this long to happen." Jinx smirked. "Though I think she still should have had a swing with that stripper dude, he was hot."

Her remark earned her a collective glare. "Sheesh, I was just kidding."

"_They look very happy."_ Jericho signed.

"Well, I guess we'd better head back to the hotel." Nightwing remarked.

Cyborg cleared his throat before replying.

"Before we go, there's something we need to talk about."

"What is it Cyborg?" Kole asked.

"I know we haven't talked about it, but we all know that the Brotherhood of Evil will be returning. The Doom Patrol has already taken off to search for more clues about them."

"So what are you proposing?" Kid Flash asked.

"Bumblebee and I are going to restart Titans East, and we want you guys to join us."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Dr. Pontone?"

"Yes?" The scientist with the white lab coat replied.

Her assistant tossed a copy of People magazine in front of the scientist. There was a beaming photo of Brad Pitt and his girlfriend du jour on the cover. The scientist picked up the gossip rag and smirked.

"So Brad has a new squeeze? I care about this, because?"

"It's not that; turn to the page with the sticky note."

The scientist rolled her eyes but did open the magazine. As she opened it a small laugh escaped her lips. "Well … I'll be damned … he got married."

"And to the witch … did you ever meet her, Alexa?"

Dr. Alexa Pontone quickly read the article, which was accompanied by a glam shot of the happy couple, which Cyborg distributed to the media as part of an official press release.

"No, I never met her … though sometimes I feel as if I did. He wouldn't stop talking about her. What do you think of her, Cecilia?"

"She looks kind of weird … I mean, she's gray and has purple hair. But even if she was normal I'd say she's kind of homely. He is cute though. Did you ever date him back in college?"

"I did once … at the end of our senior year. I don't know why I waited so long."

"That would have been cool … to have a superhero boyfriend … so you guys were just friends then, huh?"

"Friends with benefits." Alexa smirked.

"Oooh! Sounds hot … so, is he good in the sack?"

Alexa closed the magazine. "I've had better rolls in the hay … but he was nice … you know, the kind of guy you could settle down with."

"So why didn't you?"

Alexa snorted. "I was 22 years old, settling down was the last thing on my mind. All I was thinking about back then was grad school and getting laid, and not necessarily in that order … still … seeing this wedding announcement … it makes me wonder if maybe I should have stayed in touch with him … Garfield was a sweet guy. I think he deserves better than that witch. I guess I'll never see him again." She replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Oh well, no point crying over lost opportunities. Oh, you got some mail too, something really official looking from England." Cecilia replied as she handed Alexa an envelope. The blond opened it and read it.

"Well I'll be damned." Alexa blurted. "It looks like I'll be attending a special event in London."

"You get all the cool junkets." Cecilia grinned.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven and Gar waved as the boat pulled away from the small pier where they were standing, its outboard motor buzzing as it sped away from the private island where they were deposited. A warm briny breeze blew off of the azure Caribbean sea and caressed their short and t-shirt clad figures.

"This is much nicer than Isla Poblada." Garfield joked.

"It's also a lot smaller, and there's no jungle. Shall we take a look at our home for the next week?"

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ walked up to the bungalow that stood proudly on the beach like a miniature Taj Mahal. They were told that at high tide the waves would lap against the front porch. The interior was practical yet elegant. There were hammocks on the deck and ceiling fans throughout the open air house kept the air circulating.

The sun was beginning to set and another boat would soon be by with their dinner. Even thought their tiny island was private they could pick up the phone and have just about anything delivered to them via speed boat. The concierge recommended that they request a lifeguard if they wished to swim in the ocean. Even though Gar told the man he could become a fish the concierge insisted that it was highly recommended and was included in the cost of the vacation.

"Like we need a stupid lifeguard. C'mon Rae, put on your bathing suit and meet me outside." He said as he dashed back out the door.

Raven opened her suitcase and slipped on a purple bikini, which Starfire gave her for the trip. The swim suit wasn't terribly revealing and she admired her figure in the mirror. She had to admit that the swim suit did flatter her figure and remembering that Gar was waiting for her outside she dashed out the door.

The sight that greeted her was not what she was expecting. A huge green killer whale was waiting for her in the shallow water. Looking down in the sand she saw something written in it in large letters and she quickly realized that it was his work. It simply said. "Hop on"

Raven levitated and glided over to him, landing on the whale's back. As soon as she grabbed his dorsal fin he took off into the deeper waters, swimming quickly as he skimmed the water's surface, bobbing up and down. As they pulled away from the shore Raven's laughter could be heard bouncing over the water.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Well … we're home." Raven announced as she unlocked the back door to Azarathia.

"Fun time always goes by fast." He replied.

Raven walked over to her computer and saw that Jinx had indeed been on top of things while they were gone, as there were no unprocessed orders to handle. There was a post-it note stuck to the screen and Raven peeled it off. The note read: "Gar, call Dr. Washam at the university." There was also a letter addressed to Garfield from the United Nations.

Raven handed both the note and the letter to her husband. He opened the letter first and quickly read it. With a huge grin on his face he handed the letter to his wife, who also read it quickly.

"I don't believe it! You're finally going to get recognition for developing the vaccine!" She gushed. "In a ceremony in London! … and it's next month."

In an unusual outburst, Raven hugged her husband.

"Works for me." He grinned. "I guess I'll have to arrange for a sub to cover for me at school while we're in London."

He looked at the sticky note. "I wonder what Dr. Washam wants?"

He picked up a phone and dialed the Dr. Washam's number at the university. Raven busied herself checking out the new merchandise that arrived during their absence. After a few minutes she overheard Gar say in a clearly dejected voice "Yes, Dr. Washam, I understand" before he hung up the phone. Using her empathic abilities she sensed a tidal wave of disappointment wash over him.

"Gar, what's the matter?"

He sat down on a chair.

"I lost my job."

"What?"

"Dr. Washam said that the regents had a meeting and decided that I'm a security risk. They're afraid that I'll be a target and endanger the school."

"Gar … they can't do that ... can they?"

"They can, my contract has a security provision in it. Dr. Washam said that he heard that Gotham State is still interested in me. But I don't want to go there."

Raven sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He slouched and stared at the floor, sitting in silence. Suddenly out of the blue, Raven kissed him.

"I have an idea." She blurted out.

"You do?"

She stood back up and walked to one of the store's side windows, opening the blinds.

"The building next door is for sale." She remarked.

Gar joined her at the window.

"Rae, are you thinking what I am?"

They both stepped out of Azarathia to the sidewalk. Next door to Raven's building was another structure with a "For Sale" sign in front. The building was a single story structure and was unoccupied. It's previous tenant was a ice cream shop that had gone out of business two years before. The building's façade needed some work, but otherwise it was in good shape.

"Do you think it's big enough?" She asked.

"I think it's perfect." He replied.

"Then we'll make an offer on it this afternoon."

He pecked her on the cheek. "Lucky for me I married a rich girl." He smirked.

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Two weeks later …_

Raven and Gar admired the shiny new storefront from the sidewalk. The building's exterior was now in perfect condition after the major remodeling on the outside. They did have it painted a bright white and the new sign on the front of the building stood out in sharp contrast: "Dr. Garfield Logan, Veterinarian."

They entered the building and toured it. There were two examination rooms, a lab, an operating room and the kennels were in the back, which Gar took special pride in, saying: "Nothing but the best for my patients."

They walked back to the reception area and Raven flipped over the "open" sign, officially opening Gar's practice for business. She kissed him and headed back to Azarathia, promising to join him for lunch.

Gar sat down at the reception desk and stared out the window. Flyers had been mailed out to nearby neighborhoods. All he could do now was to wait for patients to show up. Time passed by slowly that morning and he occupied himself reading some veterinary journals while he sat at the receptionist's desk. He would hire a receptionist once business picked up. Just as he finished reading his fourth journal he heard the door chime and looked up.

A young girl who looked no older than 8 years of age entered the reception. Her hair was dirty and her clothes looked slightly worn. She was carrying a small mongrel puppy in her arms.

"Hello there." He greeted her. "What can I do for you?"

"Finn isn't feeling well." She replied in a small and sad voice.

"Well, don't you worry; I'll take care of Finn. What's your name?"

"My name is Sally. You're Dr. Beast Boy, right?"

He smiled as he replied.

"My name isn't Beast Boy anymore. Some people call me Changeling, but you can call me Dr. Logan."

"I like Dr. Beast Boy better."

Gar chuckled.

"So do a lot of other people. Let's take Finn to the examination room and see what's wrong with him. Does Finn live with you?"

"I found him yesterday at the park. My mommy says he's too sick to live with us."

"We'll just have to heal him then, won't we Sally?"

Gar took Finn into one of the examination rooms and before doing anything he morphed into a dog and had a one on one chat with Finn. As soon as he was done he morphed back into his human form, while young Sally watched wide eyed.

"Finn says his stomach hurts. He might have worms, which is likely as he's a stray. Sally, I'll give you some medicine for him and he'll need some shots. But first he needs a bath, come with me."

Gar carried Finn to a large sink in the kennel area and gave him a quick bath. After drying and brushing the puppy he placed a flea collar around his neck. He then took him back to the examination room and gave him a rabies and distemper shot. He then went to his medicine cabinet and retrieved a plastic bottle of pills which he gave to her.

"Give him one pill a day and just one a day until they're all gone. You will remember to do that, right?"

"Yes Dr. Beast Boy, I will."

Sally pulled three crumpled dollar bills out of her pocket and handed them to Gar.

"Is that enough money?" She asked as Raven walked into the room.

"No charge, you can keep your money Sally." He grinned as he handed the money back to her.

"Actually, how about we charge her one dollar?" Raven, who had suddenly appeared for their lunchtime date, asked as she intercepted a single dollar bill.

Gar gave her a puzzled look before turning back to Sally.

"If Finn doesn't get better in a few days you just bring him back here, OK?"

"Thank you Dr. Beast Boy, you're a good doctor."

Sally walked out the door and waved goodbye through the window before walking away, carrying Finn in her arms. Gar turned to his wife and arched an eyebrow.

"One dollar?" He asked.

Raven smiled at him, smoothening the crumpled dollar on the edge of his desk as she replied.

"I'm gonna frame it. It is the first dollar you've earned as a vet."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Hopefully it won't be the only one I earn today."

_**-( scene break )-**_

A shorter chapter this time, but a long mailbag!

**LSUABW** - "I still love the storyline here! I hope Cy and Bee get back together! And I honestly knew that you would make the bachelor and bachelorette parties end in disaster! Haha great chapter!"

_Ending in disaster is always more fun!_

**js12601** - "another great chapter. My favorite part was the two of them finding each other at the tower. it would have been funny if they did elope without anyone knowing. can't wait for more."

_I thought that having them finding each other was a nice contrast to the sordidness of the parties, which really weren't their style._

**checkit789** - "Beastboyand Raven are finally married, Cyborg is considering taking Bumblebee back, and four more chapters of who knows what! I can't wait for you to update!"

_Well, four more chapters based on the original story. There will plenty more after that._

**Tasa** - "I really liked this chapter, I understand why BB feels this way about marrying raven but I know it'll work out for them! I also really hope cy and bee get together again soon. Thanks for this great chapter, cant wait too read more!"

_The funny thing is that in the comics Bumblebee is married ... to The Herald!_

**ninjannikki** - "Love the story! It's really good. I can't wait to see what happens next."

_I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!_

**The Cretin** - "Well...those parties went well...D Guess the others didn't plan ahead as well as they thought. "In the comics, they were never clear about whether or not BB and Raven did the deed"...true but that doesn't mean we can't think ;) In a way, its better that way. It kinda suits them ..."

_I still think they didn't do it in the comics. But that's just me._

**TW** - "Noticed you changed a few things from the original wedding scene."

_The biggest change was that I had Steve and Rita change roles. In the original story he was the unhappy camper._

**Anoymous136** – "I'm glad you're still keeping in Coraline. I was starting to love her character, well, the little I saw of her. I mean she DISOBEYED UP TO ALFRED! Only the daughter of Raven could do that. "

_I have to confess, Coraline is not my OC. I use her with permission from the great Sir Alwick._

**DeeThom** - "This was a really good chapter and, for once, that's all I have to say. Great job!"

_I left you speechless! Well, we can't let that happen again!_

**titanfan45** - "I know this is just a story, but I was still proud of both Raven and Garfield. Raven stood her ground with Wonder Woman (so much for them not being at odds!) and then she stood up to Jinx who was trying her best to lure Raven into a situation she most definitely did not want to be in. Garfield was at his best when he stopped the dancer from impersonating Raven any further. I think he showed great restraint by not going Beast on his friends for setting that fiasco up in the first place. I really enjoyed the part where he and Raven found each other and spent the night with each other rather than continue the traditional drunken antics usually found at Bachelor/Bachelorette parties."

_I didn't have a Bachelor party, and I doubt I missed out on anything._

**Bluedog197** - "DUDE THAT WAS AWESOME take that wonder woman how dare you try to take raven away from changling and i mean whats wrong in owning a bookshop way to go raven show em who's boss and it was sweet you made them meet on the roof top and i loved the wedding part with rita becauseshe was all like and i qoute (Oh, so his name was good enough to take after all) just got to love em so much right. but overall great fantastic awesome story can't wait to see what happens next."

_I've always thought that Wondie has a chip on her shoulder._

**JOHNXgambit** - "great chapter its nice to see them both stick to their guns at the party and its always funny to see raven kick her own ass, BTW don't worry I still remember her from the first time around"

_She's being a lot more introspective in this rewrite. Lots of trips to Nevermore to sort things out._

**WishToBeUSomeday** - "I absolutely love this story u did a nice job making it so like how many chapters are u gonna make till u stop and plz make it alot cuz i adore this story. :D"

_I'm not sure, but I'm guessing 30-40, plus some have asked me to post the original eding as well. If I do that it will be from 50-60 chapters_

**Manga154** - "I actually expected BB's first lover to show up at the gentalmens club... But the raven look alike was a curve ball I didn't see."

_Well, Alexa has a Ph.D, so I wouldn't expect her to be a pole dancer._

**krostovikraven1** - "Loved how the bachelor parties ended. way better than what their friends had planned for them. and Raven will be able to have kids, right? if at all, Rita is expecting that. maybe that would be an easier way to get to love her new daughter in law and it would make Garfield so happy. how come Cyborg doesnt know who Nightwing is? Is Garfield the only one that knows? Loved the wedding. glad nothing exploded."

_Why does Cyborg not know? It's mostly a wedge device between him and the others._

**ferlion** - "good stuff. Close to divergent time.I'm kinda digging Raven's new backstory in the new 52 though. I think I kinda like it more."

_I'd say that the divergence has already started. We have Alexa in the picture!_

**greenhatred77** - "great chapter, very nice and very familiar. i remember this from the last time this story was up. i like the story and i look forward to what other changes you make to it. I noticed that you also deleted animal attraction, is there a reason why you deleted it? That story was in my top ten favorite stories. i'm just curious"

_As I already mentioned to you in a PM, I just didn't like Animal Attraction. It wasn't original enough for my taste. It was too Fullmetal Alchemist._

**gabylokita41** - "They should have taken him to Disneyland haha both their parties were disasters tho ur right gar's party was worse haha i love where this story is going and i have to say its way better reading it the second time around i loved it the first time but im loving it more this time keep up the good work :)"

_Thanks, I wish I had been taken to Disneyland!_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** -"**** YEAH ANOTHER NEW CHAPTER YES! THE WAIT WAS KILLING ME! Well then, now we know why Wonder Woman wanted Raven in the JLA and smart move of Rae to decline the invite, WW had an ulterior motive on recruiting Raven, JLA Zatanna or Dr Fate not good enough for you guys?"

_There's no way Raven would have accepted WW's offer._

**Shadico** - "What extremely awesome timing, both yours and Lamont's Bachelor and Bachelorette parties for BB and Rae were posted recently, haha. Felt kinda surreal reading them back to back. Loved BB and Rae's reaction to both of their outings, and the fact that they found each other on the tower was just awesome. Also really glad that Cy might be getting his happy ending as well, hope Karen treats him right this time. Also, go BB, rawr! Haha. Here's to hoping BB's little soldiers are overpowered as all hell and overly successful on the first attempt, because I am absolutely shamelessly hoping for Spawnies, and soon! ahahahaha."

_I did spill the beans regarding offspring, didn't I?_


	18. Pusstcat, pussycat, where have you been?

_A few weeks later …_

It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday. Raven and Gar had just returned from the mall, where Raven purchased a new evening gown and other attire to wear to next week's ceremony in London. Upon receiving further correspondence they learned that they would both be knighted by the Queen herself in Buckingham Palace for services performed for the crown. And of course there was the recognition ceremony, where Garfield would receive a medal from the United Nations, plus countless other awards in recognition for developing the canine saving vaccine. As far as Raven was concerned, it was recognition that was far overdue.

The gray sorceress was wearing the dress she purchased for the award ceremony, and was critically examining her reflection in the mirror. Dressing up was something absent from her résumé and she didn't have Starfire available to help her select her attire. She wound up selecting a light blue dress, which her husband agreed looked good on her. She bought some shoes with low heels. Pumps or any other shoe with high heels was out of the question as far as she was concerned. It didn't matter to her that she was short, there was no way she would wear foot destroying shoes. Nylons were a bit more challenging as most were not gray, but she eventually found some that matched her unusual coloration. Those were another garment type she didn't understand, but she knew that she would have to wear them. She might be able to fight villains bare legged, but that would not be kosher at the ceremony. A small black hand purse completed her ensemble and she posed once again, admiring the finished product.

"Not bad." She murmured to herself. "Not bad at all for a witch."

Gar was checking out the new suit he bought for the ceremony and turned to look at her.

"You look great … you could be a movie star."

"That sounds more like your mother."

"I guess you're right. Did I tell you they're gonna be there too?"

"Great. I'm totally thrilled."

"Don't be like that, it's gonna be fine."

"I suppose that eventually your mother and I will learn to get along."

He regaled her with that goofy grin she loved the first time she saw it when they were little more than children. "Like I said, you look great. There is something missing though."

She turned back to the mirror and frowned at her reflection. "There is? I thought I bought everything on the list Starfire sent me."

"She forgot to put something on the list."

"I see. Let me guess, whatever it is, you got it for me?"

"Gee, you're smart." He snickered.

"I am a PhD." She smirked back at him. "So what is this mystery accessory that the highly fashionable Princess Starfire forgot?"

He opened his dresser and pulled out a small gift wrapped box, which he handed to her.

"Happy Monthiverssary!" He cheered.

Raven took the box from him. "There's no such thing as a Monthiverssary."

"Sure there is … we've been married for a month now … Monthiverssary!"

"I guess I'll take your word for it."

"You should … I'm also a PhD and a Doctor too." He grinned again, his fang poking out of his mouth.

Raven unwrapped the gift, which was a long jewel box. She opened it and stared at its contents. On the end of a gold chain was a blue gem.

"Is that a sapphire?" She gasped.

He removed the necklace from the case and gently placed it around her neck. The pendant shimmered like a star. Raven gently grabbed the gem cradled it in her hand. It had some heft to it. She released it and let it hang while she looked one more time in the mirror.

"Gar, it's beautiful … it must have cost a fortune. How did you pay for it? I know you didn't use our joint checking account."

He sat down on the edge of their bed as he continued to admire his wife. "My parents, my biological parents, they left me a trust fund, one I couldn't touch until I turned 18 … I would have bought a scooter with it back in the day."

"You shouldn't have spent it on this. It must have cost more than a new car."

"Why not? I think it looks great on you. My vet practice is picking up, it's not like I'm a pauper. And besides, I didn't want to spend your money on it."

"Gar, we've been over this, it's not my money, it's our money."

"Not everyone agrees. I heard through the grapevine that some honorary Titans think you should have had me sign a prenup."

"That's stupid, your adoptive parents are billionaires, if anyone should have signed a prenup, it's me." Raven continued to admire the pendant, stroking it with her fingertips. "It is gorgeous."

"Just like you, babe."

Raven smiled. "Fine, you talked me into it, I'll keep it."

"I knew you'd like it." He winked at her.

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Later that day …_

The Chromatically Challenged Couple sat down at their table, ready to have dinner together. Since it was Gar's turn to cook, he served …

"Tofu Surprise? Oh Gar, not again."

"But you said you liked it … you don't like any of my other tofu dishes."

"Would you please make something else next time? Look, I agreed to eat vegetarian when you cook, but how about something without tofu? You know, like ratatouille or eggplant parmesan?"

"Sorry babe, I forget that not everyone loves tofu like me."

"It's OK." She replied as she took a bite. "It isn't bad; I'd just like some variety in the menu. Oh, before I forget, the mayor called."

"He did? About what?"

"He wants to know if we're still the Titans."

Gar walked over to the front window and looked across the bay at their old T shaped home. The late morning sunlight danced across the water, making it sparkle as if was encrusted with tiny jewels. There were so many memories associated with the Tower and the time spent at the landmark felt as if it was only yesterday. At the same time he could see his reflection in the glass. His juvenile face was gone and judging by his receding hairline his scalp would soon follow.

He recalled Madam Rouge's taunt. She called them a shopkeeper and a veterinarian. She was right of course, as that is what they were. Was he still a hero, though? Sure, just two months ago he led the hastily reassembled Titans against the Brotherhood of Evil, but that was done out of necessity. He had no doubt that many of his comrades still wanted to be superheroes, after all Cyborg and Nightwing were in the process of reviving the Titans East in Steel City. But what about he and Raven?

"Did he say why he wants to know?"

Raven walked up to the window and joined him in his bay watching.

"No, he didn't mention any specifics. He just said that since there are two of us in town he was wondering if we would be available should the need arise."

Gar nodded.

"There were a few of our usual villains missing from the Brotherhood's lair: Dr. Light, Adonis just to name a few." He replied. "They haven't been seen here, have they?"

"No, the Mayor just wants to know if we can be on call."

Gar furrowed his brow.

"So what happens if we're busy? What if I'm with a patient or you're busy with a customer? We can't just run out and leave them hanging, can we? I guess we could make ourselves available after hours …"

Raven took his hand and squeezed it.

"Gar, there' something else you need to know."

"Something?"

Raven walked over to one of the couches in the waiting room and sat down, patting the spot next to her. He accepted her invitation and joined her on the couch. As soon as he sat down she handed a small plastic artifact to him. He recognized it immediately, and studied it carefully, until he was sure he had interpreted it correctly. He then looked at her with a happy look on his face.

"You aren't pulling my leg, are you? I thought that …"

"Yes, I am on the pill. I have been for years, since our days at the Tower. Cyborg suggested that I take them to help me with my mood swings, and they worked great. Apparently though they don't keep me from ovulating … it must be my demon physiology …"

Gar jumped to his feet, his eyes sparkling like a child's on Christmas Day and hugged his wife.

"This is awesome! We're gonna be parents! We're gonna have a baby … well … you're gonna have it … but you know what I mean!"

He then scooped Raven up bridal style and spun around, unable to contain his joy.

"So you aren't upset? I know we haven't talked a lot about this, but I thought you wanted to wait a year or two."

"I know, we said that … but this … this is wonderful Raven … I mean … we didn't know if we even could have kids."

A look of relief appeared on her face and she gave him a deep kiss while he still was carrying her bridal style. She thought she could feel Happy doing cartwheels in her mind and she came to the conclusion that life couldn't get any better.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The sounds of sirens echoed outside in the urban canyon that surrounded the stealth penthouse and Nightwing gazed through a window upon the hell hole that was better known as Bludhaven. They had been there for 8 long years now and while he and his wife had apprehended countless miscreants and even a few heavies the truth was that they had not been able to make a dent in the city's epidemic of lawlessness. Bludhaven remained the cesspool it was when they arrived. On more than one occasion Starfire tried to convince him that it was pointless and that they were wasting their talents arresting car thieves and common burglars and that they had a higher calling.

That day at the hangar 6 weeks ago in Jump City was the best day she recalled in a long time. After Cyborg made his pitch Dick took his wife and daughter to the far side of the large room to discuss it in private. And while Starfire had lost her full command of English, she still had a near photographic memory courtesy of her alien brain and she remembered the conversation perfectly:

Nightwing led her and their daughter to a cubicle on the far side of the hangar while Cyborg and Bumblebee continued to make their pitch to the others. Once they were in the partial privacy of the cloth covered box they sat down around the small table it contained.

"Kori, I know what you're gonna say … Bludhaven is no place to raise a family."

"Yes, I have said that … many times." Her English was quickly improving.

"You've also been quick to point out that we haven't really made a difference in Bludhaven."

"I never said that … what I said was … new criminals appear faster than we can remove them … I know we have saved many people … so to them we made a difference."

"And that's why accepting Cyborg's invitation is so difficult. On the one hand Bludhaven feels so hopeless and yet … they need us …"

"But?" She replied.

"I know how unhappy both of you are with living in Bludhaven. I also know that our talents as superheroes are better used as Titans, the Brotherhood of Evil reminded me of that."

"So what are you saying, my husband?"

Nightwing got up and shuffled around the table, looking at the floor.

"I'm saying that if joining Titans East is what you want, that's what we'll do."

Starfire leaped to her feet.

"Oh Richard!"

Still staring out of the window Nightwing could see an apartment building on fire ten blocks away, the work of arsonists. Normally he and Starfire would have joined the police and firefighters in dealing with the blaze, rescuing anyone who was still trapped in the building, and it pained him to just stand there and watch. Of course he knew he couldn't be everywhere and that the locals were going to have to take care of themselves as he once again moved on to a new city, but the twinge of guilt was still there.

The apartment was mostly empty now, their belongings and furniture were packed and most had already been moved to the Tower in Steele City, where Starfire and Nightstar were already setting up their new home. He had yet to tell anyone, but deep inside he was feeling a sense of relief. The guilt of raising his beautiful daughter in seclusion and secrecy in the dark penthouse had begun to eat away at his soul. She would now have companions of her own age in the Tower as many other Titans also had children.

Aqualad married Tula in Atlantis shortly after the Titans East were dissolved and they had two children of their own. Speedy was married and had a young daughter, but he declined the invitation, saying that he now preferred to work alone. Menos also declined as he promised his wife on their wedding day that he was hanging up the spandex for good, and without his brother Mas was just an ordinary guy. Argent and Hot Spot revealed their tightly guarded secret: they had a child out of wedlock and would finally get married in a simple and private civil ceremony before moving into the Tower. Jinx and Wally decided to stay in Central City but would always be on call if they were needed. And the final three members of the team were going to be Melvin, Teether and Timmy (and of course Bobby).

Two people were on Richard's mind: Garfield and Raven Logan. There had been long discussions during the Logans' honeymoon between the Graysons, Cyborg and Bumblebee over whether or not to extend an invitation to the Logans. Bumblebee and Cyborg felt that they already had a full complement of heroes in the Tower East. Starfire said that they were newlyweds and should be left alone. Nightwing was the only senior Titan who wanted to formally invite them to join the team. In the end the decision was made to extend them an open invitation to join the Tower East should they ever want to do so. It was clear to the Logans that the invitation was a mere courtesy and that no one was really expecting them to accept.

Nightwing continued to watch the fire burn in the distance as the fire crews worked at putting it out. It was only a few hours earlier when the Titans family heard the happy news that the Logans had a bun in the oven. They also received an invitation to attend the gala celebration in London, which meant that Starfire would hobnob with Earthly royalty for the first time.

"That didn't take long." Nightwing remarked to himself. "Barely a month has passed by and Raven's already preggers. So much for Cyborg's theory that she would be sterile."

Kori called him from Steele City, right after talking with Raven. She sounded so excited that one would have thought that she was pregnant, and Dick braced himself for the inevitable pitch that they have a second child.

It was then that he heard the new T-Ship East land on the roof. He stacked a few boxes on a hand truck and made his way to the roof. He was going to load the last of their belongings into the T-Ship and Bludhaven would be nothing more than a memory.

_**-( scene break )-**_

_A few weeks later …_

The post ceremony reception was held in Windsor Castle, and was to be followed by a formal dinner. The usual paparazzi had formed outside of the castle grounds, and they were quick to photograph the guests as they arrived, who were a veritable "Who's Who". There were of course other academics present, as well as entertainers, athletes, politicians, UN dignitaries and of course there was Royalty.

When Nightwing, Starfire and Nightstar arrived, the paparazzi went into a frenzy. Grayson was wearing a tuxedo while wearing his signature mask. Starfire and Nightstar where wearing elegant gowns. The young princess flitted around the large ballroom, and most of the guests couldn't get enough of the young princess or her princess mother.

Raven was sipping a glass of wine while chatting with Prince Charles and a couple of British rock stars. After a few minutes the prince excused himself and left Raven with the two musicians.

"So, love, you used to be a Teen Titan, right?" One of them asked her.

"That's right." She replied. "Say, have you seen my husband?"

"I saw him a few minutes ago; I think he was talking with Prince Philip. For a couple of Yanks, you two seem to be quite at ease with royals."

"I'm not an American … or I should say I wasn't born American. I was born on another world called Azarath. As for being at ease around royals, it's easily explained: our roommate was a princess."

"You mean Starfire?" The other musician enthused. "I didn't know she was a princess. I like her; she's a bit of alright. Say, does Nightwing ever take off his mask?"

"I have never seen him without it." She replied.

"Say, uh, Raven … you don't mind if a call you Raven, do you?"

"Some people call me Dr. Roth, but you may call me Raven."

"Right … say … did you Titans ever … you know?"

"I'm afraid that I have no idea of what you are talking about."

The musician, a drummer with a band called "Soggy Biscuit", grinned before continuing.

"You lived together without supervision, right? I mean it's not like Batman or Superman would check up on you or anything."

"That is correct. We were independent."

The drummer began to chuckle. "So you had the run of the house? Oh, I'll bet you kiddies had a lot of fun, didn't you?"

"I don't follow. What exactly are you asking me?"

"He's asking, as you Yanks would say, about the hanky panky in the Tower." The other musician, a guitarist, interjected.

Raven frowned at him. "There was no 'hanky-panky' or any other unseemly behavior in Titans Tower. We were superheroes, not party animals; the Tower wasn't a frat house."

"Now there, love, you don't expect us to believe that, what with you lot being a bunch of randy teenagers."

"Believe it." She growled at them, just as she saw her husband weave his way back through the crowd. "If you'll please excuse me, I will be joining my husband."

Beast Boy, still wearing the gaudy medal given to him in the ceremony draped around his neck, approached his wife, but as soon as he saw her companions, he grinned from ear to ear.

"Dudes! You're Pete Thompson and Roger Kerr! You guys are with 'Soggy Biscuit'! You guys rock!"

Raven kept a straight face, concealing the fact that she was both astonished and dismayed that her husband was a fan of the two chowder heads she had just wasted time speaking with. She couldn't even imagine why they had been invited to the ceremony and reception.

"Thanks mate! But not as much as you do! You saved every dog in the whole bloody world." The drummer replied as he reached into his coat pocket and produced two paper stubs. "We have a concert next Saturday in Wembley, these are two VIP tickets, the best seats in the whole house. We'd be honored if you and the missus came to see us."

The changeling grinned. "Dude! Thanks! We'll be there!"

The musicians shook hands with the Logans before excusing themselves, as other people were eager to chat with the two Titans.

"I'm not going to that concert." She grumbled to him.

"You won't? Why not?"

"First of all, they remind me of Punk Rocket, plus they're jerks … if you really want to go, take Cyborg."

"Oh come on, Rave, it'll be fun."

"You know I don't like that kind of music."

"But it's 'Soggy Biscuit', and we have VIP seats!"

"I said take Cyborg."

"But …"

"Gar, don't push me."

A sigh of defeat escape escaped his lips. "Ok, fine … I'm sure Cy will go with me."

His disappointment did not escape her and Raven was about to tell him she'd make it up to him when she was interrupted by a female voice that came from behind her: "You have Soggy Biscuit tickets? I'll go with you."

Raven slowly turned around and found herself facing a blond woman who was almost six feet tall. She had a knock out figure and a face to go with it; she was so incredibly stunning that she could have been a beauty queen. Raven locked eyes with her and the woman smirked at the sorceress.

"I don't believe that we've been introduced, though I gather that you are my husband's acquaintance."

The blond extended her hand to Raven, who politely shook it.

"I'm surprised Gar never told you about me, we were great friends at school, weren't we, Garfield?"

"Alexa?" The changeling croaked.

Raven felt icy fingers grip her spine, but her face did not betray the dismay she felt upon learning that the blond goddess standing before her was the infamous Alexa, her husband's former class mate and his first lover … it couldn't be … this stunning woman was 'Alexa'?

"Oh Garfield, don't tell me you never told Raven about me … or Tina and Janey?"

"Raven knows about you and me." He replied in the calmest voice he could muster.

"Did you tell her everything?"

"He told me about the one night stand he had with you, when you seduced him when he was intoxicated."

Alexa laughed. "Ouch … you make me sound like some sort of, I don't know … demon woman? But you have nothing to worry about Raven, I'm not here to steal your husband."

"Why are you here?" The changeling snapped at her, with an offended tone in his voice, clearly upset with the veiled put down against his wife.

"Why I came here to congratulate you. But I also want to take you both out to dinner tomorrow."

"Dinner? May I ask why?" Raven calmly replied, though she really wanted to say something more like 'So you can rub my face into the fact that you're a goddess and you've slept with my husband?'

"A business proposition. I heard that UC cancelled Garfield's contract, which was a really stupid move if you ask me … anyway, I have something much better to offer him."

_I'll bet you do, you blond hussy._ Raven quietly fumed in her mind.

"What are you talking about? Another teaching position?" He asked.

Alexa smiled sweetly and Raven felt her stomach churn. "No, not that, this would be something far more suited to your talents. But this isn't the place to talk, I'll send a limo to pick both of you up tomorrow at 7. I already have a reservation for us at the Café Royale."

"The Café Royale? You must have a very well padded expense account." Raven replied. "Who did you say you work for?"

"I didn't, but I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Sounds like you have an offer that Gar can't refuse." Raven smirked at her.

"Actually, I think I do, but we can talk about it tomorrow, this isn't the right time."

She extended her hand to Raven a second time and once again the demoness politely shook it, though somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind Rage was making a case for ripping the uppity blonde's head right off of her shoulders at that very moment. And while Raven was sorely tempted to go along with Rage's suggestion, she kept her cool. Alexa then hugged the changeling and pecked him on the cheek.

"You're looking as handsome as ever, Gar. I'm so glad you finally got the recognition you deserve. You're a lucky woman, Raven. You don't have any idea of how many women at college were in love with your husband. You certainly bagged yourself a keeper."

Alexa excused herself and disappeared into the crowd. The changeling stared dumbfounded where Alexa has been standing.

"What the hell was that?" He croaked.

"You tell me, Romeo. Your old girlfriend is back, and contrary to her claims, she wants you. I could feel the lust oozing out of her."

"I haven't heard from her in over four years … I mean bupkis, nada, zilch. And now she appears out of the blue and has a business proposition for me? And for the record, she was never my girlfriend."

Raven crossed her arms. "And she's invited us to dinner … great."

"Raven … we don't have to go."

"No … it's OK. I want to hear what she has to say. You're right, something is odd about her suddenly appearing and I'd rather know as much as possible."

"You sure, Rave?"

"Yes, I am. I also want to know why you never said she was such a looker. I can see why you didn't turn her down."

"You know I was drunk, Rave. I'm not like that, you know me."

"Gar, look me in the eyes and tell me she isn't the hottest girl you've ever seen."

He gulped. "Ok, yeah, she's pretty stacked, I won't deny it."

"And what about Tina and Janey?"

"I don't know what she's talking about, we just studied together, for four years. Sure, Alexa is eye candy but nothing ever happened, at least not until the last week of the final semester. Tina once told me that Alexa liked to … how did she put it? Collect guys? I guess she just wanted to add me to her collection before she left."

"She'd better not be thinking of adding you to her permanent collection."

"Raven, we don't have to see her again. Whatever her proposal is, there's no way it could interest me. We have our life in Jump. You have Azarathia, I have my veterinary practice and we have a baby on the way … I wanna see the look on her face when we tell her that."

Raven suddenly smiled. "Yeah …me too. But I am curious about her proposal."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The dinner started off politely with the usual small talk one would experience at such an event. Alexa was very skilled at polite chit chat and asked Raven about her experiences as a Titan and later as a college student. The meal was very good and the wine Alexa ordered was not only exquisite, it was unbelievably expensive.

After the meal was finished and while they sipped on cordials she then explained to them about her quick rise at Genomatic Labs, where she now held the position of Director of viral research. Her demeanor suddenly became "all business" and Raven knew that the pitch was imminent.

"Gar, we're doing cutting edge work at Genomatics, we are so far ahead of everyone else that we might as well be the firm in our field, and the way we accomplish that is by hiring only the very best."

Alexa sipped on a small glass of Sambucca before continuing.

"I've been placed in charge of the HIV vaccine project. I want you on my team, Garfield. You are best in your field, I know that with you on my team that we will succeed."

"HIV? Alexa, are you serious? A lot of really smart people have been trying to crack that nut for decades, what makes you think I can do it?"

"You came up with the canine vaccine when everyone said it couldn't be done. Everyone was expecting the worst: mass extinction. Some breeders were freezing dog embryos, hoping to bring them back later once the virus was gone, but the embryos were already infected, it was a lost cause, that is until an obscure and anonymous grad student came up with a vaccine."

"Alexa, that was just dumb luck."

"I don't believe in luck. Gar, you can name your price. And why not? We pay knuckledheaded athletes millions to play with a ball. What you will do will actually make a real difference in the lives of millions of people. You'd be a savior, again."

"There's no guarantee I can pull it off."

"Is there any guarantee that Payton Manning will take the Broncos to Superbowl and win? Of course not, yet he is paid millions to try."

"Alexa … I don't know … I already have a veterinary practice and Raven has a business of her own."

"You can't be serious? You'd pass up this opportunity to inoculate cats and to worm dogs?"

"I would, but there's more … Raven's pregnant and I want to be there 100% for her. I can't do that if I'm working around the clock to find a vaccine."

Alexa looked startled for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"We can accommodate you … we'll set up a lab for you in Jump. And you can work normal hours, you can be with Raven. Tired people don't make brilliant discoveries."

"Alexa, I already told you …"

The blonde's mobile phone chirped, alerting her to an incoming text message.

"Excuse me, it's my babysitter."

"You have a kid?" Raven asked.

"Yes, I do. As you may have already guessed, he wasn't planned. And his father doesn't know."

Alexa quickly glanced at the phone's display. It read: _"He's running a mild fever."_

She quickly texted back. "Go ahead and take him to the pediatrician. I should be back in town tomorrow."

She put her phone away. "My son is ill. So as you can see, I understand the special needs of a parent … Gar, please consider this, OK?"

"There has to be other people who can do this."

"No, there's no one like you. Gar, I really want you for this … I need you …I can't do this without you, do you understand?"

The changeling heaved a weary groan, while Raven cast a jaundiced look at Alexa.

"OK, I'll think about it, but no promises beyond that."

Alexa gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Garfield, and before I forget … congratulations to both of you."

Changeling relaxed and a smile appeared on his face. "Thanks, I still can't believe that I'm going to be a dad!"

Raven locked eyes with Alexa. "May I ask why you never told the man who sired your son that he is a father?"

Alexa became taciturn. "I didn't want to burden him with that knowledge."

"But he has a right to know."

"I was considering telling him just a few weeks ago, that is until I learned that he now has a family of his own."

"He still has a right to know."

"It would upset his wife."

"If she loves him, she'll support him, unless he was cheating on her."

"No … no he wasn't. He was detached at the time."

"Then you should tell him. It's the right thing to do."

Alexa paused as she considered Raven's words. "I think I will … soon … thank you, Raven."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Those of you who remember the original story can tell that the direction is beginning to change in earnest.

And now, time for the mailbag. And before I forget, Happy Father's day to all the dads out there reading this story! And speaking of fathers ... any guesses as to who is the father of Alexa's boy?

**Guest**- "Currency you say? ... Maybe I can help you by making a whole ton of reviews to help? I can make it look like Im a different person each time..."

_But that would be counterfeit currency! And no one wants to be paid with that!_

**Guest** - "*my name is Demon Girl* How cute! But I have a feeling there is more drama to , why why why did she had to show up now? Update soon.

_You probably have already figured out her real motive._

**SilentGoddest** - "I read the last review for chapter 17, are they having offspring? I would love to read about a.. demon Morph baby... thing."

_Coraline is on her way._

**titanfan45** - "Gar is going to be a heck of a vet. I hope Rage and Alexa don't mess things up. Gotta say that their honeymoon setting was just just about perfect."

_I think I should have embellished the honeymoon some more. I could have made a whole chapter out of it!_

**The Cretin **- "Hope Dr. Pontone Bridge doesn't mess with things that are better left alone. Great chap. I especially liked how they're handling the newlywed phase. Never a time like that for us guys eh? I really liked Rage. She's clear about her place on it and she's not afraid to stand up to how Raven wants to do things. Still, I hope Rae reigns her in. Great job man. Hope you're doing well. Sorry it took me a couple of days but I got here. Hope to read more soon."

_That was one of my favorite chapters in the original story._

**js12601** - "another great chapter. I can't wait to see what goes down in London. it will be interesting to see how Raven will take meeting Alexa."

_Raven always keeps her cool. That doesn't mean she isn't totally pissed. Still, she offered Alexa some good advice._

**SuperNolon** - "If I am correct, the villan never return and the child of the cutest (Raven) and the toughest (BB) child will be concived. (in sarcastic monotone) It won't be worth reading then. (regular voice) I'm kidding! If you lived in Wieser, you could join the TT FANS 4 LIFE!"

_Coraline will be a tough kid._

**TW** - "I detect a problem coming up with Alexa."

_That obvious, huh?_

**Shadico** "You spilt the beans regarding offspring? I...what? when? where?! Great, now I have to completely re-read this all over again hunting for that, haha. In other news, I loved the Nevermore scene, and loved that Rage was far more mellow than usual which reflected just how happy Rae really is right now. Though I am surprised Rae is still acting so...well, I guess Rage said it accurately when she called Rae prudish, haha. I'm sad nobody thought to get Rae and Gar a Kamasutra book as a wedding gift. A great sex life wont detract from their relationship, it's already pretty established that they're both head over heels for each other. So, it's pretty obvious Gar and Rae are going to run into Alexa at the convention in Europe (I can already feel Rae's anxiety exploding, haha), that should prove very entertaining to read. Hopefully Dr. Alexa Pontone wont be the bitchy homewrecker I'm thinking she might try to be (Can't blame me for being a little traumatized because of Carved in Stone, constant worry! haha). Very much so looking forward to the next chapter and also chuckling quietly to myself at how you'll have to condense yet another one of my reviews :)"

_Your full review stays in the mailbag! I'm using Nevermore a lot more in this story than I usually do._

**TheBeezKneez** - "Oh wow.. you weren't kidding about London, I was so close! :D."

_I couldn't pass it up!_

**gabylokita41** - "Nice I remember parts of this from the original but I can't wait how'll turn out with rae and bb seeing Alexa in London now that has to be good loved this chaptor one of my fav parts was were bb turns into a whale and tell rae to hop on on their honey moon that's just cute :) I liked it a lot and I can't wait to see what the second part of this story is ganna look like I gatta say I'm excited for it ."

_Thanks! They really are a nice couple in this story. Which is why they must suffer!_

**JOHNXgambit** - "alexia remember that story about the one that got away. BTW nice job with BB losing his job it shows that there are other trials in life that a metahuman can face and makes the story more gripping"

_And things will be getting even more gripping._

**WishToBeUSomeday** - "CANT WAIT TILL THE NEXT CHAPTER BTW AWESOME STORY lol haha"

_Thanks!_

**greenhatred77** - "shit is going to go down in london."

_Not yet, but soon. Any guesses as to who is the father of Alexa's son?_

**Anoymous136** - "Damn fine as always. I wonder how this Alexa storyline is gonna turn out. You just love to torture them, don't ya?"

_Yeah, I do. And it's going to get worse before it gets better._

**Bluedog197** - "DUDE now i know how raven feels with all those emotions because im going crazy happy here i mean im jumping for joy that there married and together i wanna scream to the world how angry i am with alexa for coming back and her friend for calling raven a witch im laughing my butt off at rage because she's happy which is creepy but funny and im awwwww'ing at the last part with the puppy its too cute. so im a crazy but happy person with this story keep it up and good luck can't wait to see more"

_The puppy scene is perhaps my favorite one in the story._

**Guest** - "I've been enjoying this story, but I'm thinking it would have been better to spin off a sequel after the big climax and denouement, with the defeat of the Brotherhood and the wedding. I though the end of the last chapter was a perfect wrap-up of the first story, while leaving enough hooks for more to come. I'm just not sure that the 2nd story arc(s) you're setting up here in this chapter really needs to be here in _this_ story."

_Side stories can add color to a story, but can be distracting if they become too big._

**checkit789** - "This Alexa sounds like bad news. I hope Changeling a.k.a. Beastboy dosen't run in to her. But where would the fun be without her?"

_The bad news hasn't even started yet._

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Aww man, "Trainwreck alert, Trainwreck alert" for upcoming chapter in London, hopefully Rae will keep Gar in check and I have a weird ass feeling Alexa will be the 3rd person and put Gar in a really compromising position."

_The train wreck has yet to begin!_

**Death Stroke The Kid** - "I forgot to review the last chapter *1st world problems cry* sorry about that :(

This story just keeps getting better, so much that im overwhelmed by its awesomeness and at a loss for words.

The real reason I read others FanFics is so that I can bring that sense that it actually happened, I'm sure im not the only one. I've been a BBRae fan since the beginning and once the series ended i was so disappointed but i was sort of happy with the movie, they got robin and Starfire together but still no BBRae. When i heard the news of Teen Titans being reborn and brought back, the feeling was indescribable , the thought of having a chance of BBRae was making me so happy. That was thrown out the window when they made it humour based and not give it that delicate balance of drama, comedy and action that the original show had. Sorry for my rambling :(" I will support BBRae until the day i die."

_If you can stomach the new show the word is that there will be some BBRae shipping in it. That said, they are also going to pair up BB with Terra, and I heard this from Khary Peyton himself (the voice of Cyborg) as I was in the same room with him: They are going to ship Cyborg with Jinx!_

**krostovikraven1** - "well thats a very convenient vet. he can actually ask his patients whats bothering them. and his first dollar? yay Way to go Dr Logan."

_He's a regular Dr. Doolittle._

**Manga154** - "I was expecting a bit more chaos when Raven and BB showed up back at their shop. And the dollar thing seems to be something every small business does, I never really understood it."

_The real chaos is still coming!_


	19. A Thorn in Their Side

_**-( scene break )-**_

_A few hours later …_

Raven and her husband passed on riding Alexa's limo back to their London hotel and instead she conjured one of her flying disks. The black circle flew silently up the Thames, passing London's riverside landmarks one by one until they reached their destination, silently landing in front of the hotel's lobby while the smartly dressed doorman gave them odd and curious look. The black disk vanished and they nonchalantly entered the lobby as the doorman greeted them with a courteous tip of his hat.

They did not speak during their brief flight, but instead processed what they had seen and heard with Alexa. Raven found herself feeling increasingly agitated and while she didn't visibly show it, her husband could sense her unease.

"Are you OK, Rave?"

She stopped in front of the hotel's gift shop, which was still open and had a decent collection of paperbacks for sale, which caught her eye.

"Why don't you go up to our room and get ready for bed. I'll be up in a few minutes … I just want to see if they have any good books."

The changeling knew that all the gift shop would have were mediocre but trendy "best sellers", which were far beneath his wife's intellectual standards. Still, he read between the lines and understood that she wanted to be alone for a while before coming to bed. It had happened before and he knew the drill.

"Sure … take your time; I'll be waiting for you."

After giving her a chaste kiss on her lips he disappeared into an elevator and was gone. Raven briefly perused the books before giving up on finding a good read. She absentmindedly wandered out of the gift shop and without knowing how she wound up sitting on a stool in the hotel's bar, which was bustling with young pretty things of both genders, many of whom were there to find quick pickup for the night. Mercifully, none of them approached her. She didn't know whether to be offended or relieved, until it dawned on her that she was still a celebrity and that the bar's patrons knew who she was and that she was married.

"What can I get you, Miss Raven?" A young woman asked.

The sorceress looked up into the female bartender's smiling face. She frowned as she hadn't really thought of ordering anything.

"What do you call that drink … the one with Kahlua and vodka?"

"That would be a Black Russian"

"I'll have one of those, please."

The bartender quickly mixed the vodka and coffee liqueur on ice and placed it in front of the demoness.

"I'll bill it to your room."

"Thanks."

Raven took a sip of the brackish cocktail and smacked her lips, savoring its sweet taste.

"You know it's a bad idea to drink alone. It's even worse when you're pregnant."

Raven swiveled on her stool and found herself face to face with Cyborg.

"I guess I'm not alone anymore."

"But you're still pregnant."

"One drink won't hurt."

"I guess not … barkeep … I'll have a Screwdriver."

Cyborg waited silently for his cocktail. Once it was ready he gestured with head, telling Raven to follow him to a booth where they would have some privacy. As soon as they settled in he got to the point.

"OK, little lady … what's bothering you?"

Raven took another sip of her drink. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, it is. I've known you for a long time and I can still read you like a book … so … what's bothering you?"

She furrowed her brow. "I met an old flame of Gar's."

"What kind of old flame?"

Raven took a bigger swig of her drink. "The kind of old flame he slept with."

"Oh … so … was this Alexa?"

A slightly startled look appeared on her face.

"You know about her? Who else does?"

"No one … B told me about her before you guys got married."

"What did he tell you about her?"

Cyborg hesitated, knowing that he was unaware of just how much she already knew. He hemmed and hawed but all that earned him was a well deserved glare.

"That he had too much to drink and had a one night stand with her." He replied in a defeated tone. After all these years and she could still wield that intimidating and scary glare. Raven crossed her arms and leaned back into her seat in the booth.

"Have you ever seen her before?"

"Can't say that I have … what's she like?"

Raven finished her drink in a single gulp. "She's a goddess."

Cyborg's human eye widened. "Oh, you mean that tall blonde …"

"Yes! That was her!" Raven snapped. "I'm sorry … it's not your fault."

He nodded. "It's OK; no one likes to meet their spouse's old flame."

"Especially when she's built like Miss Universe."

Cyborg gave her a sympathetic smile. "Raven … you aren't worried, are you?"

She gave him a mild glare, but said nothing.

"Oh, c'mon … you know B's head over heels in love with you."

She pouted. "I know … I have nothing to worry about … but she's so damn gorgeous and they …"

"He was drunk and he was lonely. And don't sell yourself short, you got the goods."

"Yeah right, I'm a regular beauty queen, Miss Gray and Nasty." She moaned in exasperation. "I just hate knowing that she slept with him."

"And it's perfectly OK to feel that way."

"Damn it, Cyborg, if she was an airhead it wouldn't be so bad … but she's smart … she's really smart."

"Raven, you aren't in competition with her. You already won. BB's yours, in heart, body and soul."

"There's more … she offered Gar a job at the lab where she works. She's some kind of director there. You should have heard the pitch she gave him. Talk about blowing in someone's ear."

"Did he accept her offer?"

"No, he didn't. She's tenacious though. She asked him to think about. Cyborg, I know this is going to sound crazy … but … she wants him, I could feel her emotions … the lust."

"You don't have anything to worry about."

She gave him another glare. "How can you be sure of that?"

He placed a friendly hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. "Raven, if the roles were reversed, would you dump him?"

She nearly choked upon hearing the question. "What? Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!"

"And he won't dump you for her." He smiled. "He's waiting for you … I think you should get out of this bar and go do something … nice … with your man."

She smiled sheepishly. "Since when do you know so much?"

"Since I became your big brother … goodnight, Raven"

The sorceress nodded and phased into the floor. Cyborg picked up his drink and took a swig as he smiled.

"You owe me big time, grass stain."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_About 5 months later..._

Raven sat at the desk in her small office in Azarathia, printing out packing slips for a deluge of orders that were placed that morning. So many orders came in during the past week that she was afraid she might soon run out of merchandise. As she prepared to pack an order she felt a small kick in her womb and she stopped working and she stroked her swollen mid-section.

"I see you woke up Coraline. Did you have a good nap?" She asked quietly.

Raven was six months pregnant and she wasn't able to go on her artifact hunting trips as often as in the past and now that she was beginning her third trimester she wasn't sure if she would be able to go on another trip anytime soon. The shelves in Azarathia while not empty were beginning to thin out and she was beginning to worry that she might eventually run out of merchandise. There was a vendor in Bulgaria who claimed to have an interesting batch of artifacts for sale and while she was tempted to just purchase them sight unseen she knew better than to do that. The number of counterfeits being sold around the world was at an all time high and rising, she knew that she had to examine everything personally before buying it. It was one of the reasons Azarathia was so successful and she could charge top dollar for her wares. Customers knew that not only did she sell hard to find items, but that they were always genuine. Always. Raven would have it no other way.

Gar was just as busy next door. His veterinary practice was a roaring success. While "Beast Boy" had been gone for a long time from Jump City the citizens not only remembered him but he was still a celebrity. The fact that his first customer, young Sally was born around the time he hung up the spandex was proof that he was still very much on the citizenry's minds. He eventually accepted the moniker of "Dr. Beast Boy" which was used pretty much by all his customers and finally gave up on changing his hero name to Changeling. He was so popular locally that he even landed a small contract with one of the local TV stations where they gave him a 2 minute segment on the local evening news where he would briefly talk about veterinary health issues. His practice was beginning to get so busy that he was in the process of hiring one of his classmates from CSU to join him at his clinic.

The Logans also declined the mayor's request to return to active duty as the city's guardians, even on a part time basis. They agreed that as parents they could not risk their lives as superheroes any longer.

The printer had completed its task of producing the packing slips and Raven was beginning to pack the first order for shipment when the rear door chimed. She stopped packing the order and smiled. They were right on schedule, as always. She got up from her desk and exited her office, walking into the store's showroom.

Starfire wrapped her arms around Raven and gave her a gentle hug. As soon as they released each other Nightstar levitated up to her and gently caressed her midsection and giggled when Coraline responded with a kick.

"Baby Coraline is awake." The young princess squealed with delight.

Nightwing was correct about his wife. Starfire became ecstatic over the news that Raven was pregnant and she was visiting her gray friend at least once a month.

"Yes Nightstar, she's moving around a lot more now than the last time when you visited."

Starfire then had her turn and also rubbed Raven's swollen midsection, which was quite pronounced as the sorceress was so short.

"So what's new in Steele City?" Raven asked.

"This quarter is Richard's turn to lead the team."

"So the others haven't agreed to accept Bumblebee yet?"

"That is correct. They and the extended Titans family have yet to accept Karen or forgive her."

"I know I keep saying this but, your English has improved. In fact it's better than it was before."

The Tamaranian nodded.

"When I first learned it through lip contact I was under duress and it affected the transfer, which caused my verbal quirks."

Raven chuckled lightheartedly.

"Sometimes I miss those quirks … you haven't referred to Coraline as a bumgorf … not even once. So how are Vic and Karen doing?"

"They have moved in together. Cyborg is trying to find a way to quickly switch between his Titans tech and his 'soft body' but so far the transformation still takes two hours."

"I'm sure Karen would appreciate that." Raven replied as she wondered what it would be like to make love with her husband if he was partially covered in armor.

As if on cue Gar entered the showroom. After exchanging hugs with the two princesses he kissed Raven while caressing her mid section.

"Have you shown them the 3D ultrasound?" He asked.

"Not yet, I thought we could do that after lunch, speaking of which our table is waiting for us at Salvatorre's …" Raven replied.

She was interrupted by Nightstar.

"May I tell them now mommy … please?" The child almost whimpered in anticipation.

"Yes my child, you may tell them our news."

The young girl spun around and flew up so that she was at eye level with the Logans.

"Aunt Raven! Uncle Gar! … Mommy is going to have a baby too!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Garfield returned to his office to see his last patient of the day while Raven and the Graysons waited for him in their apartment. Gar emerged from his operating room cradling a small dog in his arms.

"He's gonna be a little woozy until the anesthesia completely wears off Mrs. Larrea, so don't worry if Puplo seems a little out of it. He should be feeling much better by tomorrow. I'll perform the biopsy myself tonight."

The portly woman collected her tiny Chihuahua and consoled the dazed miniature dog.

"Do you think he'll be OK doctor?"

"Well, until I perform the biopsy on the cyst I removed we can't say for certain, however the cyst doesn't look cancerous. But we'll know by tomorrow."

A worried look appeared on the woman's face but she quickly regained her composure. She thanked Gar again and walked out the door, which he locked after turning off the neon "Open" sign. He heaved a deep sigh and headed back to the lab. There he cut several samples from Puplo's cyst. Before examining them he looked towards his clinic's operating room and sighed again before refocusing on the biopsy at hand.

Ten minutes later he was done. He hastily removed his lab coat and tossed it into the hamper with the other dirty lab coats. It didn't land completely inside the container and the text that was embroidered on it was visible: "Dr. Garfield Logan, DVM".

"Gar, are you OK?" Raven still had a knack for appearing out of nowhere.

He shook his head in reply.

"No, I'm not."

"What happened?"

"Puplo has advanced cancer. He's going to die and there's nothing I can do to help him."

"Death is part of life Gar. We're all going to die someday."

He looked at her with sorrowful expression.

"I know, but it's my job to keep death at bay. I know that in the end I can't stop it, but that doesn't mean I have to lose gracefully."

He paused.

"Rae … if you gave up your human side … you'd be immortal, right?"

"Yes, but then I would become just like my father, who was only ageless. He wasn't indestructible."

"You've given up so much to be with us Raven…"

"No." She interrupted. "I gained so much, and I would never give it up." She added as she stroked her midsection.

"I'm sorry for being such a downer. I already lost 3 patients this week, and I had to put one of them down. I once swore that I would never do that, but Cachito was suffering so much …" He began to sniffle.

Raven wrapped her arms around the love of her life. He was a mighty superhero yet he had a soft and gentle heart. Just the other day she gave him a small statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, and he kept it on his desk. His gentle soul was one of the many reasons she loved him and she knew deep in her heart there could have been no one else for her.

"You did the right thing Gar. And don't forget about all the times you are successful." Raven consoled him, recalling the day earlier that week when he gave the terminally ill and suffering tabby a lethal overdose of anesthetic. She had been there and watched Cachito's owner say goodbye to her dear cat as it slowly fell into a permanent slumber.

"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier."

"It shouldn't. If it did I'd be worried about you."

She pecked him on the cheek.

"Come on Gar, let's go back to the apartment, the Grayson's are waiting for us."

Garfield nodded as he shut the blinds in the clinic and turned off the lights.

"So where are we taking them to dinner?" He asked.

"There's a new Indian restaurant on California Street."

He brightened upon hearing the news.

"Indian? Now that's my kind of place, those guys know how to make vegetarian!" He grinned.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The Indian restaurant was like so many others. There was the ubiquitous statue of the multi-armed dancing Shiva at the entrance and soothing sitar music played over concealed loudspeakers. It was a slow night at the restaurant and the ambiance was calm and relaxed. The Logans and the Graysons were enjoying their meal when Starfire spoke up.

"Has there been any news from Alexa?"

"None." Raven replied. "She hounded us for a few weeks; she called almost every day, until Gar told her to not call anymore. Just like that, it ended."

Nightwing healed back in his chair. "Garfield, are you sure you made the right decision? What if you could have developed an HIV vaccine?"

"You think I haven't thought about it?" The green doctor replied. "I've been spending all of my spare time studying what's already been tried, and believe me, a lot has been tried. Things I hadn't even thought of have been tried. People think that just because I came up with the canine vaccine that I'm some kind of wonder worker, but I'm not. I just got lucky and stumbled onto the cure."

"We're happy with our lives just the way they are." Raven interrupted. "Gar's practice has grown and our daughter will be born in a few months."

"Rave's right, things are perfect for us. Why would we want anything to change?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

The two couples chatted as they walked back from the restaurant in the early evening dusk. Nightstar hovered around them while other pedestrians did double takes; some of them immediately recognized the four former Titans and waved while maintaining a respectful distance.

The Star of India was only 10 blocks from Azarathia and it didn't take long for them to get back to the Logan's abode. They arrived through a special entrance that allowed them to bypass the store and they congregated in the living room.

"Who wants a root beer?" Gar asked as he entered the kitchen and opened the fridge.

Before anyone could answer a mild shriek escaped his lips.

"Rae! Did you go shopping today, or did the grocer deliver?"

"I did the shopping myself."

"I think you made a mistake."

"I made no mistake, Gar."

The changeling emerged from behind the fridge's door, holding in each hand a can of … diet root beer."

"You bought DIET root beer on purpose?"

"Yes Gar, I did."

And indignant harrumph escaped his lips.

"Aw c'mon, so I've gained 5 pounds since we got married."

Starfire cleared her throat.

"Gar, you do remember that I travelled to the future …"

"Yeah, yeah … I know … I was a fat pig. I'm not fat now Star!"

Raven was glad Starfire had stepped into the verbal fracas. Her husband was displeased to say the least.

"No dear friend, you are not fat today. But you are no longer a teenager nor are you physically active anymore. I am afraid that Raven is right. If you continue to consume massive quantities of high fructose corn syrup you will eventually match the appearance I saw in the future."

Gar dismissed her warning with a horizontal arm gesture.

"I was a loser in that future; I was barricaded in a cage."

"She has a point Gar. You spend all your time in your clinic; you really don't get enough exercise …"

"Fine! I'll get a treadmill … but I am not drinking … this." He replied as he glared disdainfully at the can of diet root beer he held in his hand.

His indignant diatribe was interrupted by the sound of the telephone ringing. Raven answered the phone.

"Chief Watanabe? What can we do for you? … The museum? … We are retired chief, you do know that? And I am pregnant anyway …"

Raven paused and became wide eyed.

"Are you serious? … OK … I'll ask the others … yes, Nightwing and Starfire are visiting …"

Raven covered the mouthpiece of the handset with her palm and turned to the others.

"Raven, what is it?" Nightwing asked.

"Red X is in the museum, stealing some gems on display. The police can't stop him and are asking for our help."

Nightwing sprang to his feet as if the couch itself had pushed him up.

"Are you saying Red X is back? He disappeared years ago."

"That's what the police chief is saying." Raven replied. "Are we going to help the police or not?"

"We kemosabe? " Gar replied. "In case you've forgotten Rae, you're pregnant."

"I know Gar, but someone has to teleport us there, otherwise Red X will be gone by the time we get there."

Nightwing gave the sorceress a hard look.

"Gar's right, you can't get involved. It's too dangerous for you and the baby. Red X has always had a knack for hitting you Raven."

Raven glared back at him.

"I can keep my distance, Dick. So what do I tell him?"

Gar glared at his wife before answering.

"Tell him we're on our way."

"Don't worry Gar, I'm not stupid. I'll stay out of harm's way." She then uncovered the phone's mouth piece.

"We're on our way chief."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The situation at the museum was pure mayhem, a scene out of the Keystone Cops. The police were wearing their high tech gear and were armed with plasma rifles which they could not use out of fear of damaging or even destroying irreplaceable artifacts. They were forced to chasing Red X around the museum, trying to tackle him. Of course he was able to dodge their clumsy attempts with the greatest of ease and was not above using his own arsenal of weapons against the hapless cops, who eventually wound up tied up in the sticky red x shaped traps that were the seemingly resurrected villain's trademark.

To say that the police were surprised that Red X returned after years of absence was an understatement. His last appearance had been 9 years ago. It was in the very same museum that he faced off against the Titans and they almost caught him that time as he fell and broke a leg. He teleported away just before Beast Boy, as he was still known back then, morphed into an octopus and nearly grabbed him. No one was sure why the villain, who was always a thorn in the Titans' side, simply vanished from the scene. Many speculated that his near capture had been too close for comfort and that he simply decided to retire. Heaven knew he could afford to do so, as he successfully stole millions during his short career and right under the Titans' collective noses.

But now he was back, and using a laser cutter he sliced through the showcase cabinet's shatterproof glass like it was butter and quickly retrieved the priceless Chinese jewels from the Ming dynasty. There was no way he could sell them, but the Chinese government would pay a hefty ransom to recover them. As he placed the last jewel, a 10 carat emerald into his bag he chuckled.

"Retirement can be so boring." He lectured the still bound police officers. "Of course without anyone to stop me I might stay bored … but at least I'll be richer."

"You never learn, do you Red X? Crime doesn't pay."

The masked villain turned towards the source of the reprimand.

"I love the new costume Robin … or should I call you Nightwing? It looks so grown up. Last I heard you and princess hottie were living in Bludhaven, chasing down petty thieves. And if it isn't the Doctors Logan? I thought the two of you had hung up the spandex. But I see the rumors are true Raven, you are preggers. And that nice little girl floating next to you looks like she could be Starfire's daughter if I'm not mistaken."

The only response he received was a deluge of starbolts and bird-a-rangs, which he skillfully dodged.

"Just like old times!" He shouted as he performed several flips to stay out of harm's way. "In case you're wondering, I've made some enhancements to my suit."

He raised his right hand and a bolt of lightning shot out of his palm and barely missed hitting Starfire. He then found himself encased in Raven's dark energy. To her surprise he passed through the dark tendrils as if they were made of smoke.

"Be nice to me Raven, I don't want to play rough with you since you have a bun in the oven, but I will if I must."

The three Titans resumed their attack and other than Raven staying at a safe distance it did feel like old times. Red X was his usual arrogant cocky self and his arsenal still consisted mostly of X shaped weapons. And as usual the standoff was a stalemate.

What wasn't usual was that the green changeling appeared to be absent and even stranger was that Red X didn't seem to notice that. The battle between the three Titans and Red X was straight out of the old textbook: The Titans relied on their superior power and Red X resorted to his cunning and his arsenal of X shaped weapons. After a few minutes of sparring Red X prepared to make his usual escape.

"Well Nightwing, this has been fun. Too bad you don't live here anymore. Without the Titans to make life interesting stealing will actually be boring."

Red X turned around, ready to teleport away. Instead of disappearing he let out a shout of surprise as he instinctively looked down to the source of his pain. To his mild horror he saw a large green snake with its fangs sunk into his foot.

"Beast Boy! Since when do you bite?" He howled as he hopped around on one foot.

Gar morphed back into his human form.

"First of all, the name's Changeling, or you can call me Dr. Logan. Speaking of which, I have a vial with the antidote back in my office, and we should try to get there in no more than 10 minutes."

"Gar! You can't be serious!" Raven shrieked.

"He's had it coming to him for a long time Rae. I just couldn't stand the thought of him escaping one more time."

"But Changeling … that isn't your style." Nightwing protested.

"Never mind that!" Red X shrieked. "I need that antidote. Now!"

Gar grinned smugly at their long time nemesis.

"First things first … hand over the belt."

Red X quickly complied.

"Now take off your gloves and boots."

Again Red X promptly obeyed the order.

"Hurry up! I need that anti-toxin." Red X replied in a panic stricken voice.

"He's yours Nightwing."

Dick quickly patted down Red X, confiscating a few more hidden weapons in the process. Once he was confident that Red X was clean he cuffed both his hands and feet.

"Raven, take us back to the clinic."

A dark hemisphere formed around the group and they vanished with it.

_**-( scene change )-**_

Red X, still shackled, was tied to a heavy steel chair.

"Where's the damn antidote! Time's running out! If I die, you'll be a murderer Changeling!"

Gar calmly strolled over to a large fridge he kept in his lab and opened it while Red X heaved a sigh of relief. That is until he saw what he removed from the fridge. It wasn't a vial of antitoxin.

"Here's your antidote." Gar chuckled as he placed a can of diet root beer in front of Red X.

"This isn't funny Changeling! I need that antidote now! I can already feel the effects of the toxin!"

Gar burst out laughing.

"What's happened to you Changeling? Have you turned into some kind of psycho? I need that antidote!"

By this point the other Titans were all laughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you were supposed to be the good guys!" Red X screamed.

"You don't get it, do you?" The sorceress replied.

"Get what?"

"I was morphed into a garden snake, as in non venomous!"

"WHAT! You tricked me?"

"Yup! You fell for it like a brick; you even imagined feeling the symptoms."

"You frakking bastards! You're gonna pay for this!"

"I don't think so." Nightwing interjected. "But now we get to find out who you are."

"No! Wait! Don't remove my mask!"

Dick ignored Red X's pleas and in a swift motion he removed his mask.

And everyone gasped.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Ha! How's that for a cliff hanger!

And I know, you're disappointed that I didn't unveil who is the father of Alexa's son. Most of you think it's BB, and the poor green jokester may very well find out that the joke is on him. Be patient it will be revealed soon. That she's been away for so long seems to bode that BB isn't the dad, but who knows? All we do know is that Raven is very wary of Alexa.

And now, for the very voluminous mailbag!

**Chayse-man** - "Hmmmm...Call me crazy, but me-thinks Rae was a bit paranoid over Alexa's motives. And I don't remember London in the first version, I like the whole "Cure HIV" storyline, if anyone could do it, it's Gar. It's good to read this again, and in the words of Eddie Vedder, I've been away for too long! Ha!"

_Raven's always been distrustful of blonds who flirt with her green bean._

**adventuresstime** - "I hoping this one review will make up for all the times I haven't reviewed. Your story is absolutely amazing, hitting all the high points of a romance while still having multiple side plots that don't deprive the story of its core essence. You have a way of adding small details while still keeping the story on focus and I love that. This has to be my all time favorite BBRae story. I thoroughly enjoyed Ravens talks with her emotions and Garfields ability to talk to his patients. I hereby promise that I will review after every chapter from here on out. And for this chapter... I feel like Alexa is hiding something. Something like that she may be on the bad side."

_It always warms a writer's heart when a lurker posts a first review._

**WhiteRaven21** - "This is a great story. When I first started reading I had no idea it would turn out so well. All the plot twists and learning what occurred to the other titans after they disbanded was exiting. I can't believe Raven is pregnant and Alexa has showed up trying to steal Gar from Raven! You are very talented and I can't wait to find out what will happen next!"

_Thanks! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story._

**TW** - "a nice chapter with little action but a lot of story. Keep up the good work."

_Thanks!_

**Guest** - "*my name is demon girl* no. . . .no no no no no no NOOOOOO! LIES! SHE'S LYING! OH DEAR LORD, PLEASE TELL ME IT'S SCHEME! Why?! Oh my- WHY!? Random tv dude: Garfield, you ARE the father! Me:NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! LIES! RANDOM TV DUDE LIES! If Garfield truly is the father . . . . I'm siding with Rage if she makes up a plot to get rid of Alexa. But then again it's not right for Raven to do that. NO! IT MUST BE LIES! PLEASE, I DON'T CARE IF YOU SPOIL IT FOR ME; I'LL STILL KEEP READING AND REVIEWING EVERY CHAPTER UNTIL THE VERY END JUST PLEASE TELL ME: is Garfield REALLY the father?"

_I can't tell you if he is the father ... not yet._

**IzzyQuagmire0907** - "OMG IT'S BEAST BOY'S SON!"

_So far this is the consensus_

**JOHNXgambit** - "we are off the tracks and heading to the unknown I love it. BTW I want to guess speedy assuming he was going through his drug phase while married to cheshire"

_That is a different guess! I liked how they had Cheshire married to Speedy's clone in Young Justice. Also, some Cheshire trivia: She first appeared wearing the mask in the Teen Titans TV show!_

**Pureawsomeness123** - "Oh Fffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu- If im right as to who the father is I am going flip out I love this story, and its it's already started to pull away from the original, but its getting really good

Aaarrrrghhhhhh im justvwaiting for the next chapter now!"

_You probably hate me because I haven't revealed who the father is. Could it be Slade?_

**WishToBeYouSomeday** - "Omg i never expected alexa would have a child plus i still bet she offered that thing to BB so she can get his heart ha like thats ever gonna happen!"

_There's no way he'd betray Raven, no matter how hot Alexa is._

**EP** - "I just re read this chapter and was thinking that Garfield is the dad if he is ima hella freak out. This story is amazing i hav been following it since it started you are a fantastic writer i cant wait for the incoming chapters please update soon"

_Thanks!_

**The Cretin** - "Let me guess who the Dad is...it's NIGHTWING! )8D...No...IT'S SLADE! )8D...I'm just jokin. More than likely, it's BB ;) Seems there's gonna have to be some explaining all around. Great chap. I didn't expect to rockstars to come out of nowhere and be so..."forward" with Rae. I'm surprised they weren't melted into pools of puss. Good thing Gar didn't hear. Gotta wonder how he'd react to that. Great interaction with Alexa. I can already see the anime lightning blaring between her and Rae. Raven don't like competition for her man. I have a feeling that things are about to heat up. Once again, great chap. The story is as good as ever. Hope to read more soon."

_Let's just say that the rockers were a little toasted and didn't know what they were doing._

**Apollo Child** - "HOLY SHIT! GARFIELD'S THE DADDY!"

_Maybe, maybe not._

**js12601** - "oh no I have a feeling Gar is the dad. Gar is going to be pissed when he finds out. I also have a feeling Raven going to feel insecure again if he turns out to father. I also see her being royally angry over the situation. it will be interesting to see home Rita and Mentor will take the great chapter. I look forward to reading more."

_The Dayton's would be ticked off, wouldn't they?_

**Felerial** - "oh wow bb is the dad of alexa's boy. how devestating. not only did alexa basically rape bb when he was drunk, but she had his kid and hasn't told him for HOW many years? what if the kid is developing sakutia?! or coming into his powers somehow? this is such a huge thing, especially for metahumans, and...UGH. i feel so upset right now. damn you alexa. how out of line am i when i say im hoping something crazy tragic happens to alexa so bb and rae wil raise the kid by themselves? blah!"

_Alexa is like Terra without powers, right?_

**Shadico** - "I've no idea who Alexa's sons father could be (random guess would be...SLADE! haha), but just learning that she has a kid and a man who will potentially be in her life is a huge relief, at least she wont be going after Gar romantically. Or at least...I would hope. That whole 'No, there's no one like you. Gar, I really want you for this … I need you …I can't do this without you, do you understand?' bit seemed a bit much. Feels like hidden romantic implications ...Wait a second... HOLY CRAP. GAR IS THE DAD?! It works...I mean, she just learned that Gar and Rae are married and expecting a child, and that would be why she said "I was considering telling him just a few weeks ago, that is until I learned that he now has a family of his own."

OH MY GOD FORCE YOU FIEND! SAY IT ISNT SO! That's just...that's just...oh my lord. You are . HSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"

_Evil is my specialty!_

**Titan18Gamble** - "BB is the dad."

_Why does everyone think that?_

**Bluedog197** - "BY A SHOW OF HANDS WHO AGREE'S WITH RAGE to tear alexa apart. now great story lets start off with that nightwing finally got the idea of leaving bludhaven i mean it worst then L.A (and i should know) and whoo! beastboy and raven finally get the recognition they deserve and by the queen none the less and i have a feeling that beastboy is the father to alexa's kid things just cant go right for once ( calm before the storm right ) anyway let hope beastboy does not take the offer because i am GROWLING at alexa for even thinking he will leave raven for the job and she is up to something dark and evil i can any way great story can't wait to see what happens next so good luck"

_Well, he didn't take the job, so all is well ... right?_

**Guest** - "Watch the dad of alexas kid be an old titan"

_Aqualad? I hate the guy. Must be because he was portrayed by Will Wheaton!_

**krostovikraven1** - "No way, can Alexa's kid be Gar's? Noo, that would be terrible on Raven, not mentioning Gar, he would be devastated. i share Rage's sentiment on that hussy."

_Alexa has been quiet for a while ... maybe she's given up?_

**IshylovesVictorious** - "OMG IS GARFIELD THE FATHER"

_Well, Alexa does sleep around a lot ... so who knows?_

**SuperNolon** - "I smell chaos... wait... nope. That's just my new Raven plush. But seriously, I think the crap just hit the fan, creating the child of Complete Chaos (from Sonic Adventures) and Malchior. The wierdest part is the fact that I don't know if Chaos is a guy or a girl."

_Where did you buy your Raven plush?_

**Dragonkyng** - "It's Beast Boy's isn't it."

_Only if the Broncos win the Superbowl ... just kidding!_

**TheThoughtsofKarasu** - "I think Garfield is the dad."

_You have plenty of company!_

**Anoymous136** - "Please, please don't go where I think you're going but from what I've read of your mailbag, you might be. I hate you (Not really. I love you!) WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS ME?! WHY DO HAVE MAKE ME KINDA HATE BB A LITTLE BIT?!"

_Nothing like having a girl named "Anonymous136" confess her love for me (you are a girl, right?). It makes me feel all tingly inside ;-)_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "So I deduce that the HIV thingy,lemme guess Alexa has Gar's bastard child who is suffering from HIV and apparently is Coraline's half sibling. Moral Tranwreck commences on the upcoming chapters. Just don't cancel it will you, you seem to have a bad habit of cancelling fics when they're meh."

_I won't be cancelling this one, but it also won't careen out of control like Carved in Stone did._

**LSUABW** - "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH ya know that face where you figure out the plot twist before it even happens (based on very subtle clues in the storyline)? Yeah, I have that face right now :) but I shan't ruin it by saying what it is in this review... Great chapter, as always! I loved the dialogue between Alexa and Raven (and BB). Keep it up!"

_I like to think that dialog is my forte_

**Thowell3** - "I have money on Gar being the Father. Let me know if I am right."

_No public spoilers! :-D_

**greenhatred77** - "Gar's the dad. i'm loving where this is going. adding alexa to the story makes it even better than what it was before. keep going."

_I think this will be much better than the original._

**titanfan45** - "Wow, this story is going in a totally different direction than last time. Gotta say that I like it. I still don't trust Alexa though."

_It is. Having Raven and BB train the next generation of Titans wound up being a bit dull. This should be better!_


	20. A Rose is a Ravager

Nightwing stared incredulously at the now unmasked face of his long time nemesis. Starfire who was standing next to him reached out to touch the villain's exposed long white hair, running her fingers through the silky strands. Raven, who stood at the back of the room with Nightstar, slowly shook her head unable to accept what she was seeing in front of her. The villain's eyes we are hard as flint and cold as steel and Raven stared deep into the mysterious orbs.

Gar was slack jawed, and opened his mouth more than once to speak, but no sound came out. Finally after the third try he was able to enunciate.

"You're a girl?" He croaked.

"She's a teenage girl." Raven growled. "And she's an impostor."

"I'm not an impostor!" The white haired teen hissed back at the sorceress. "I am Red X!"

"You would have been a toddler when we first met you." Nightwing responded. "So why don't you tell us who you really are and how you stole this suit from the real Red X, and while you're at it why don't you tell us who he really is?"

Raven scanned the young girl who looked to be about 14 years of age with her empathic powers. The teen was seething with anger and fury. Raven noticed something familiar about the girl's mind. She didn't recognize the girl, her features were completely unfamiliar. But she sensed an empathic echo in the girl, an echo or an imprint of someone with who she was all too familiar.

"I didn't steal the suit; it was given to me by my father."

"So you're saying that the real Red X is your father?" Gar asked somewhat incredulously.

"No you stupid green idiot." She howled back at him before turning to Raven, grinning at her maliciously.

"Daddy still says he can't believe you married the green fool. He must be well endowed to satisfy your demonic …"

Raven approached the white haired teen and slapped her across the face.

"Watch your mouth." She warned her in her old school monotone.

The girl smiled back at her.

"I see I hit a nerve demoness, daddy told me that you were easy to provoke."

Nightwing noticed that Raven was balling her fists under her cape and moved to place a calming hand on her shoulder.

"You still haven't told us how you came into possession of the suit." The masked Titan grilled her. "You are going to tell us how your father was able to take it from Red X."

"I thought you were trained by Batman, the greatest detective in the world. You mean you haven't figured it out yet?"

Nightwing folded his arms over his chest.

"Your father took it from Red X by force."

"Very good Nightwing, very good." She taunted him.

"And he did it shortly after Red X disappeared years ago. Your father knew that Red X was disabled, that his leg was broken."

"Correct again."

"What happened to Red X? What did your father do to him?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked with a murderous gleam in her eye.

Raven was still standing in front of the shackled and insolent teen. She glared at the girl before addressing her.

"I knew I recognized something about you. You are most definitely his daughter. Your criminal mind matches his own distorted and dysfunctional psyche."

"And after all he did for you that's the gratitude you show." The girl sneered

A deep monotone voice echoed out of the clinic's lab.

"I've told you more than once Rose that Raven will always be ungrateful for the assistance I gave Robin on that fateful day, assistance that in the end saved Raven and the whole world."

The sorceress turned around and scowled at the source of the familiar voice, which they all recognized.

"You only worked with Robin that day to save your own neck, Slade."

Slade entered the clinic's reception are, surrounded by dozens of his latest generation Slade-bots.

"That is true Raven, but the fact remains that I was instrumental in defeating your father and saving the world. Oh, and before I forget, from a proud father to a soon to be mother, congratulations."

Starfire, Nightwing and Changeling all adopted their fighting stances, ready to fight their long time foe.

"Now, now my former apprentice, there is no need for any unpleasantries. I merely came here to collect my daughter who has been …misbehaving without my permission. Surely as a father yourself you can understand my situation."

"My daughter is not a criminal, Slade. But your daughter is, and she's going to jail, you aren't leaving with her."

"I see that you are as stubborn as ever, my former apprentice. But I came prepared. My robots have taken that nice family across the street hostage. You wouldn't want anything to happen to the Biaggi family, do you? And if I don't leave with my rebellious Rose in exactly 3 minutes my robots will do what they are programmed to do. So do we have a deal?"

"How do we know you won't double cross us?" Gar asked.

"Dear Beast Boy, you should know by now that I am a man of my word."

"I don't and you aren't … have your robots bring the Biaggi family here … if they are unharmed we'll do a trade. And the name is Changeling."

Nightwing tensed up. He knew that Slade had them at a disadvantage; there was no way they could save the Biaggi family before they were executed by the SladeBots.

"And my name is and has always been Deathstroke, but you always call me by my given name, Slade, which I have allowed as you are my good friends."

"Don't make me puke, Slade." Raven hissed at him.

"And I thought you had developed a sense of humor Raven … very well … I will have them brought here. And please Titans … no treachery … I would hate to see Raven become injured and miscarry her child."

Gar glared at their nemesis with a jaundiced eye.

"The suit stays here Slade."

The one eyed villain chuckled as he pressed a button on a panel on his forearm, summoning his droids.

"My Ravager doesn't need the suit, so we have a deal, Changeling."

Nightwing clenched his teeth but said nothing. In less than a minute a platoon of heavily armed SladeBots escorted the Biaggi family across the street from the restaurant; their deadly weapons were trained upon the terrified family, threatening to obliterate them.

"OK now, no sudden moves please." Slade warned the four Titans.

"Mr. and Mrs. Biaggi, I'm so sorry you were dragged into this. You will be unharmed, I promise." Raven apologized to them.

Gar released Rose Wilson from her shackles.

"The suit please." He growled at her.

"I'm not wearing anything under it."

"Too bad, now hand it over."

Rose gave him a seductive smile as she stripped down.

"Gar, what a naughty boy you are. And you already have a wife, who would have thought you had a thing for minors." She smirked at him.

Ignoring her accusation he handed her one of his soiled lab coats which she slipped on after which she stood next to her father, who acknowledged his gesture of modesty with a nod.

"We will now take our leave. Until next time, Titans."

"Slade."

"Yes Nightwing?"

"Who was he? Who was Red X?"

Slade stared at Nightwing with his single good eye through the slit in his signature mask.

"I have no idea. I dumped his body in the bay, if they found him he's a John Doe. If you were looking for closure I'm afraid I can't give it to you."

Slade and Rose Wilson quickly withdrew with their robots. Mrs. Biaggi, who was carrying her young daughter, began to cry.

"I'm so sorry about this, Mrs. Biaggi." Raven once again apologized as Starfire consoled the weeping woman.

Nightwing picked up the suit and studied it carefully. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the very same suit he wore when he tried to fool Slade 13 years ago and it was the same suit the opportunist who adopted Robin's alias as his own stole from right under his nose. He now knew why Red X vanished into thin air. Slade was right … Nightwing wanted closure … he wanted to know who was the young con man who kept giving him the slip, time after time.

And now he would never know.

Gar was leaning on his desk, watching Raven and Starfire escort the Biaggi's back to their apartment above the restaurant as police cruisers pulled up.

"Are you OK Gar?"

He shook his head.

"How can anyone be OK, knowing that he's back? You know what Dick? I thought that we had left that all behind us, that Rae and I could live a semi-normal life. I should have known better. I thought that others would come after us, to take our place being superheroes. But while we were going about trying to be normal Slade was busy setting up shop again in Jump City…"

"Gar, if it's any consolation, I also thought about hanging up the spandex, taking a regular job at Wayne Enterprises … but I just couldn't."

"You know what's going to happen Dick; the mayor is going to ask us to come back. They can't stand up to Slade."

"I know, but we've already committed ourselves to Titan's East."

"But Raven and I can't face Slade all by ourselves. Maybe if Rae wasn't pregnant, but now we're going to have a daughter. We're gonna be parents, we can't do this anymore … I don't know how you and Star pull this off."

"Come with me Gar, I have something to show you."

Nightwing led the changeling back into the apartment above Azarathia, where he had left his titanium briefcase. He unlocked it using a digital key and pulled out 5 manila folders which he tossed onto the dining room table.

"What are those?"

"5 dossiers. The Justice League gave them to me."

"Who are they?"

"Their names are Bart Allen, Cassandra Sandsmark, Connor Kent, Tim Drake and Mia Dearden. But you know them better as the latest incarnations of Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Superboy, Robin and Speedy."

"I thought they were with Young Justice."

"They were, but they aren't ready for prime time. The Justice League as asked us to mentor them …"

"And where would we do that? And when? I have a veterinary practice, and Raven has Azarathia and Coraline will be here soon."

Nightwing sighed.

"The Justice League had personally requested that both of you return to active duty. Arrangements have been made to recommission the Tower and bring it back online. You would of course be fully funded by the Justice League, carte blanche, so you don't have to worry about budgets or money."

Gar plopped himself down on the couch as he studied the 5 dossiers.

"Wow … they look very talented."

"They are, they have great potential, they just need some dedicated mentors, and we can't do that in Titans East, not at this time."

Gar fingered through the folders, studying the glossy pictures.

"So instead of being bossed around by Robin, I get to be the boss."

"I never bossed you around."

"Like hell you didn't."

"OK, maybe I did … so … are you interested?"

"I'll have to talk this over with Raven … she's never gonna go for this …"

"I'm never gonna go for what?" Raven asked as she entered the apartment.

Changeling glanced nervously at her, his eyes darting back and forth between her pregnant figure and the 5 folders he held in his hands.

"What are you holding Gar, what are those folders? Is this some hare brained scheme to have us become heroes again?"

She glared at Nightwing and he could literally feel a chill in the air around him … she certainly hadn't lost her touch after all these years.

"You're behind this, aren't you? It figures that the first time you come to visit after the wedding it would be with an ulterior motive. Dammit, you've always been sneaky. You hid your identity from us; you pulled off that stupid Red X stunt, became Slade's apprentice and didn't tell us why …"

"I'm just the messenger, Raven." Dick apologized. "This isn't my doing; I'm telling you the truth."

Raven reached over and took the five dossiers from Gar and quickly glanced at them.

"I thought they were with Young Justice … so the Justice League is behind this, why am I not surprised? … Why do they want to dump them on us? They do know that we have normal lives now, don't they?"

Nightwing braced himself, as he knew she wasn't going to react well to what he was about to say.

"Raven … Slade and Rose Wilson were just here … does that sound like a normal life to you?"

As expected, she glared at him, but instead of saying anything she read the dossiers more carefully.

"Superboy is a clone of Kal-El with some of Lex Luthor's DNA mixed in? Why in the world did they choose him? I already feel sorry for the kid."

She looked at the glossy photos of the lad known as Connor Kent before dropping his folder on the kitchen table.

"He is a good looking kid, too bad he isn't as strong as Superman."

"He's strong enough, he could hold his own against Kori, in fact he's a lot stronger than her." Nightwing replied.

"Cassandra Sandsmark … so she's the new Wonder Girl? But she's not an Amazon." Raven remarked as she flipped the page. "Zeus is her father? I guess that explains it. It says here that she has anger control issues …"

"Doesn't that remind you of someone?" Dick chortled. Raven responded with a raspberry.

"I didn't have 'anger control issues', I never beat up anyone because they were jerks." She quickly glanced at her husband. "Gar doesn't count."

Nightwing began to guffaw.

"Shut up Dick." She threatened him in her monotone. She quickly went back to Cassie's folder and read the last page. She frowned as she continued to read Wonder Girl's dossier.

"Is this a joke? We're supposed to mentor Superboy and Wonder Girl knowing this?"

"Knowing what?" Nightwing replied.

"Didn't you read her dossier? She's sexually active with Superboy, and has been for quite some time."

"You'll get to make the rules Raven."

"I'm not doing bed checks every night. We kept our hormones in check when we were teens, why can't they?"

She opened the next folder.

"Bart Allen, formerly known as Impulse, now he calls himself Kid Flash. Ha! Does Wally know about this? And it says here that he's from the 30th century. It also says that he's an insufferable know it all."

Nightwing grinned at her.

"Dick … if you say anything … you're dead meat on a stick."

"Like I said … anger management issues."

"Leave the jokes to Gar, bird boy … who's next? … Mia Dearden … trained by the Green Arrow … not bad … she has discipline and self control … even better … wait … she's HIV positive? Through sexual contact? Dick, are any of these kids still virgins?"

"I believe Bart is."

Raven looked at the last dossier.

"Tim Drake … was able to figure out Batman's identity … his father died … Bruce adopted him … Dick, what is it about Bruce and young boys?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. In any case Stephanie Brown is the new Robin in Gotham."

"And it says here that they might be physically intimate …"

"Tim told me that they aren't. He said that he and Stephanie are just friends."

"And you believe him? Just because he's Robin now?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

Raven tossed the last folder onto the table and began to pace around.

"Do you really think these horny teenagers can become Titans?"

Gar cleared his throat.

"I was … kinda horny … you know … when we were in the Tower."

"I know Gar, I'm an empath … remember?"

"And even so, you still married me."

"Yes, I did, but my point was that we behaved ourselves … unlike these kids. It actually makes me sick to know that they are sexually more experienced than I am."

"And whose fault is that?" Grayson interjected.

"Don't go there, Dick. Chastity is still a virtue."

"Sorry, you're right."

Raven stared out the window. The Tower was lit up in the night time darkness. It had strands of lights flowing along its sides and looked like an upside down Christmas tree.

"Raven, Garfield … I need an answer."

The Logans locked eyes with each other for a moment.

"We'll tell you tomorrow." Gar finally replied.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The radiator in the room began to hum as the hot water began to flow through it, and it began to warm the room as the February night chill began to nip at Jump City's inhabitants. Raven and Gar were sitting in their bed, going over the dossiers once again. Both were clad in thermal pajamas and Raven's protruding mid-section was accentuated by her form hugging sleepwear.

Raven was re-reading Mia's profile. The girl had grown up on the streets and ran with the wrong crowd from a tender age. She was a runaway and quickly found that she couldn't survive the streets on her own. A man offered her shelter and protection, but it turned out to be a ruse to trap her into a prostitution ring, where she became infected with HIV. She was rescued from her involuntary life as a prostitute by the Green Arrow. Raven put down the young girl's folder and sighed.

"I was quick to judge her. She's had a very difficult life. Had I been a little less lucky I could have wound up like her."

"Other than Cassie, they all have had a tough life. And in a way so has she. It can't be easy being Zeus' illegitimate daughter." He remarked.

"I suppose I can relate to that too. Tim was leading a pretty normal life until his father was murdered. I'm not sure that I can think of him as Robin, to me Dick will always be Robin."

Raven stared at a picture of Cassie and Connor.

"They seem like a nice couple Gar, but I have a big problem with them being intimate…"

"Rae, you do know that Dick and Kori began to … do it … not long after Tokyo … right?"

"I knew. I could sense it … Starfire eventually confided in me … at the time it wasn't something to which I could relate … back then I was having a hard time just holding your hand while we watched a movie … Starfire once asked me if it was normal to have 5 orgasms in one night…"

Gar burst out laughing.

"What did you tell her?"

Raven grinned.

"I told her that I didn't know since I'm not Tamaranian, but that I'd ask Galfore the next time I saw him."

"What did she say to that?"

Raven shook her head, still in disbelief after so many years.

"She said that it was a good idea."

Gar leaned back in the bed and sighed.

"So what are we gonna do? Slade's back and he has a psycho daughter now."

"Too bad she didn't turn out more like Jericho." She replied.

"He has to take after his mother …"

"One would hope so. So … what do we do? Gar, what is your gut instinct?"

He leaned forward with a troubled look on his face.

"My gut says that someone else can train them … I know we're needed but I think we're done with the superhero business … we've done our duty and we've earned the right to a private life. We don't owe the Justice League anything, they can have someone from their club train them."

Raven pursed her lips as she considered his words.

"But we have a perspective that no one from the League has. We were independent teen superheroes. We can offer them a perspective that no one from the League can. We can help them understand that they can be more than horny and promiscuous teens."

"I see your point, Rave, but I still don't want to do it. We could maybe lend a hand on occasion, but I'm not interested in moving back into the Tower and mentoring these kids. We did it without anyone showing us the ropes, if they can't do it, then maybe they aren't cut out to be Teen Titans and should just stick to being sidekicks until they grow up."

Before Raven could reply his mobile phone chirped, announcing the arrival of a new text message, which he read with a quizzical look on his face.

"OK, now things are really getting weird."

"Who sent you the message?"

"Tina, Tina Felty."

"Another of your undergrad study pals?"

"Yeah … I haven't heard from her in over 4 years too."

"What does she want?"

"She's in town … she says she'd like to drop in and say hi … to both of us. That sure is a coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences."

"You think this has something to do with Alexa?"

"What else could it be?"

"So … do we invite her over?" He asked.

"Tell her to meet us for dinner at Salvatore's tomorrow."

"Rave, do you think that's a good idea?"

"I have no idea, but I am curious as to what, if anything she has to say."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The restaurant door chimed as it opened. The Logans entered the bustling establishment were immediately greeted by Mr. Biaggi, who led them to a quiet booth he saved for them near the back of the small restaurant.

"How is your wife doing today, Mr. Biaggi?"

The restaurants proprietor gave them a small smile. "She is doing well. We thought about going away for a while after the incident with Slade, but that was simply out of the question. And besides, my wife is always happy when she prepares our family's recipes in the kitchen."

"She is a superb chef." The changeling replied.

"Yes, she is … can I get you anything to drink while you wait for your guest to arrive?"

"How about two glasses of red wine?" Garfield replied. "And we don't want to hear a word about you being in our debt. I want to be clear on this, we are paying for our meal this time."

"Of course … though we will always be in your debt. I will be right back with some Chianti."

The tall mustachioed man darted into the kitchen while the Logans looked out the window at the bustling street outside. They watched the ebb and flow of pedestrian traffic in the late afternoon: seniors walking their miniature dogs, young couples walking hand in hand, teens zooming by on their skateboards, a hipster strumming a guitar, etc. The street was equally busy, with cars zooming down the street searching for nonexistent parking spaces. It was just another average evening, one without Slade present to ruin it.

"Do you think she'll show up?" The changeling wondered out loud.

"She's your friend, you tell me."

"Tina was always reliable."

As yellow cab pulled up to the red curb in front of the restaurant and a shapely brunette emerged from the taxi and paid her fare. Raven narrowed her eyes.

"Let me guess, that's Tina." She grumbled unhappily. "Didn't you have any ordinary looking classmates?"

"I guess I was lucky."

His remark earned him a mild glare from his wife just as Tina entered the restaurant. She immediately spotted them and waved enthusiastically. She quickly joined them at the table.

"Gar! It's been so long! And you must be Raven!" She gushed as she extended her hand to Raven, who politely shook it. She then looked at the changeling and spread her arms wide.

"What? I don't get a hug?"

Gar rose from his seat and gave her a very meek and reserved hug. Tina sat down in the booth opposite them. Her eyes met Raven's and she smiled at the sorceress.

"So you guys are married. I was wondering how long it would be until you guys tied the knot."

Raven responded with a puzzled look. "You have me at a disadvantage. How could you possibly have known that?"

"Sorry, of course, we never met. I just feel like I know you so well, Raven. Gar would always talk about you back during our college days, about how great and wonderful you were." Tina grinned at the changeling. "Oh Gar, it was so obvious that you were so in love with Raven … why do you think that Janey and I never made a pass at you?" She giggled. "You guys are such a cute couple."

"It didn't stop Alexa, did it?" Raven asked in her old school monotone.

"Well … Alexa was different." Tina replied as she examined the menu.

"So I've heard. She also told us that she has a son out of wedlock." Raven interjected.

Tine lowered her menu.

"Yeah, that's what she told me too."

"When was this child born?" Raven asked in her monotone. Her husband noticed a nearly imperceptible twinge of apprehension in her voice.

"I don't know."

"Do you know who the dad is?" Garfield asked.

"No, I don't that either… no one seems to know who he is. Alexa has been really private about her son, which is odd, I only learned about the kid, she calls him Mark, about 7 months ago … if you ask me, something strange is going on."

"What do you mean?" Raven asked.

"I haven't seen her son or any pictures of him … no one has. It's like he doesn't really exist."

_**-( scene break )-**_

And we stop here for now!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Rose Wilson/Ravager, she isn't an OC. She really is Slade's illegitimate daughter in the comics.

And now, time for another bulging mailbag! Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! You have collectively surprised me as this story is outdrawing the original.

**adventuresstime** - "Ooooo a cliffie! This story just gets more and more interesting. I can't wait I see who Red X is."

_I hope you weren't disappointed._

**Purplepox63010** - "OHHHHHH!"

_You are a reader of few words!_

**Glacier** - "I would be quite honestly unsurprised if it was deathstroke who was the father of alexa's child. And yes, i mean /deathstroke/. That's kinda out of character for slade, but as for what little i know of deathstroke, seems like something he'd do.. Judging by the fact he slept with terra. Eww. Nice job on the last few chapters, force, and I agree with you, as interesting as it was having raven and changeling train the new teen titans, it was a tad dull.. This'll be interesting, to say the least. Keep up the good work!"

_That would make for an interesting twist ... I'm still surprised so many of you remember the original story._

**Dvasapolli** - "This story is freaking amazing, I wish it would never end. I'm calling it if Garfield inth the father then whoever the Red X is, the dad of blondies brat."

_Rose was also Red-X in the original version of this story._

**SilentGoddest** - "ARGH! That was totally you! I could only imagine who-or what- he was. Can you please not keep us in suspense? Please? For my birthday.. *Does that classic birthday pout-face*"

_I did send you a private spoiler._

**DeeThom** - "I'm not entirely sure where this story is going anymore. It's different than last time but I still love it. Other than my belief that Red X is Jason Todd, which is my perpetual theory, I have nothing more to say. Great job!"

_I don't think that Jason would work as Red X as he is much younger than Dick Grayson and older than Tim Drake._

**WishToBeYouSomeday** - "Awesome story i absolutely love it cant wait till the next chapter :)"

_I hope you liked this chapter too._

**SuperNolon** -"If you must know, my friend made that plush fore the ultimate Raven Fanboy. Now, Nightwing ees the father of Alexa's kid. So, we know Star will find out and turn into the bad butt she should have been. (slade voice) This should be fun. (normal voice) Slade is Red X Version 3.0113"

_Ooh! Star would be ticked off! You should post a picture of your Raven plush somewhere online!_

Shadico - "Cy the prodigal wingman, awwww yiss. SO glad Gar didn't take that job too! Oh, and everyone paying attention to Rae's belly was adorable, haha. Glad to see Gar's still a big hearted guy considering how he reacted to Puplo, that was so sad. He just needs a big hug! Not gonna lie, I did get overly scared as soon as Red X threatened Rae."

_The real Red-X would never hurt Raven. He might steal a kiss from her, but he would never hurt her._

**Guest** -"*my name is demon girl* . . . . Damn you cliffhanger!"

_Ain't I stinker?_

**IzzyQuagmire0907** - "*Pulls hair out* DAMN YOU CLIFF HANGER!"

_And I gave you another one!_

**TW** - "You know I've always wondered who Red X was."

_I'll bet Glen Murakami doesn't know who Red-X was!_

**The Cretin** - "I'm hoping the big reveal will be a shocker. Hoping Red-X's identity is a shocker."

_I hope it was shocking!_

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - "Please, please let it be Jason Todd, I don't want Rose Wilson in it, she's too cool for that. Heck if I were Rose, I'd rather join the Outsiders."

_But ... but ... Jason is the Red Hood!_

**EP** - "Wow why such an amazing cliffhanger i hate it haha im just kidding once again you are a very amazing writer and i enjoyed how you had beast boy or should i say changeling bite red x and say that he was a venomous snake when he really wasnt i cant wait for the next chapter to reveal who red x is i think he might be a duplicate nightwing or somone else anyways please update as soon as possible please"

_krostovikraven1 already came up with the idea of Red-X being a Grayson clone._

**bluedog197** - "NEVER i now don't think beastboy's the dad but still maybe its red x son you never know and funny part with the garden snake prank and it so sweet how beast boy knows when raven is upset and wow who knew they were going to catch red x who could be robins brother and alexa is still a bit untrust worthy. anyway awesome story it's too good for word so good luck and keep writing you are so far the best author for raven and beastboy storys cant wait to see more"

_I have to admit I borrowed the snake prank from the comics (BB bites Gizmo, but he was poisonous)_

**gabylokita41** - "Wow. That's intense haha gatta say this is better than the original I. Still remember some of these parts from the first one but most of it is new which makes it way Way WAY more interesting haha and I also think gar is the father of Alexas child tho what I'm wondering is how gars adoptive parents will react on one side they can get pissed at hi (if he is the father) or love Alexa for having a child with gar more (as they don't really like rae rae) but who knows my mind is just wandering on what could happen next haha I really enjoyed this chap tho I gatta admit I was waiting for u to proved me right or wrong on gar being the father of the child guess ill have to wait till the next chap"

_Sorry, daddy is still a mystery!_

**ferlion** - "Much appreciated."

_You're welcome._

**Anoymous136** - "Yes, I am a girl, can't you tell by my fangirl like attitude?"

_At comic con I saw a very convincing Supergirl cosplayer. It turned it was a dude! You can't take anything for granted._

**JOHNXgambit** - "geez does everyone but me thinks its not BB's kid, it would be too predictable and u sir are not predictable. if l remember right the titans are in for a sad truth to redx but a shock to see who they trolled instead NICE"

_You remembered well._

**checkit789** - "I HATE WHEN YOU DO THAT! I got to admit though that was pure genius not letting us see who red x really was. It's what keeps us coming back for more and come we shall!"

_I'm like a crack dealer, except that what I peddle is legal_

**js12601** - "Another great chapter. In rereading chapter eighteen I wonder if the child has HIV. If He does then so does Alexa. I love how cyborg was there for Raven. I also find it interesting red x chooses now to so up since he hasn't been around for nine years."

_Sorry, no spoilers regarding Alexa's son!_

**dablman2020** - "Is it Jason Tod I think it might be Jason Tod."

_Nope, not Jason._

**krostovikraven1** - "noooo... evil cliffhanger! I want to know who is Red X."

_Sorry!_

**Chayse-man** - "Why on earth...would you hate Whil Wheaton? He seems like a nice guy. Ha, I really hope you get the family guy reference there. And after reading this weeks mailbag, a lot of people think BB is the father of Alexa's child, I don't, but then again, I didnt really think of that. And why does everyone hate Alexa? Geez, she enters the story and people want her obliterated. Seems kinda harsh. I'm also with BB, diet Root Beer, is nasty. Also great job with this Chapter, I really enjoy Red X's appearences in all your fics, ya write him really well."

_I've never met anyone who liked Wesley Crusher._

**titanfan45** - "I hope Gar isn't the father of Alexa's child. I'm hoping the fact that she stopped calling when asked to do so is a ggod sign that he is not the father. Gar fooling Red X with the snake bite was as funny as it was when this story first posted."

_I couldn't make Gar really be a poisonous snake like in the comics._


	21. The Mentors

"I haven't seen her son or any pictures of him … no one has. It's like he doesn't really exist."

The changeling leaned forward from his seat.

"You mean you haven't seen her since he was born? I thought you guys were close."

"I know … we were during our undergrad days … except …"

"Except what?"

"Well … she started bragging to me … about a guy she slept with, you know, rubbing it in my face."

"You mean Garfield?"

"Uh …"

"It's OK, Tina, Raven knows everything about Alexa."

The brunette looked uneasy. "Oh … OK … I didn't want to spill any beans … you know … in case it was a secret."

"Gar and I don't keep secrets from each other … no matter how painful they might be. But I am curious, Tina, what exactly was Alexa rubbing in your face."

Tina blushed slightly, looking uncomfortable while she fidgeted with her fingers.

"Well … I do keep secrets." She turned to face her green friend. "Garfield … I had the hugest crush on you when we were in college. I never told you because I knew you were in love with Raven."

"You had a 'crush' on him?" Raven asked uneasily.

"I'm sorry, Raven, talk about awkward … but yes, I was in love with Garfield since freshman year."

"You're joking, right?" The changeling asked.

Tina smiled sheepishly. "No, I'm not … but I'm over that now … I'm dating a really nice guy, we're talking about getting married … but getting back to Alexa, I knew from early on that she was kind of 'loose', she was in to casual sex and she often bragged to Janey and me about her conquests. I kept my crush a secret from everyone until near the end of our last semester and I told her about it. Her response was that I should go for it and bag you."

"By 'bag him', I presume she meant have sex with Gar." Raven growled.

"Yeah … that's right. So I said no way. She said that if I didn't that she would. I thought she was joking … then a few days later she bragged to me that she had done it."

"I dislike her now even more than when I met her." The sorceress grumbled.

"You met Alexa? In person?"

"Yes, I did, at the award ceremony in London a few months ago."

"At London? How did she get invited to that? I tried to get an invite and it was impossible."

"I guess you didn't sleep with the right men."

Tina looked lost in thought. "Why would she go through all that trouble?"

"She wanted to offer me a job."

"She didn't have to go to London to do that." Raven remarked.

"I don't get it … she hasn't talked to me in years." Gar added.

"You mean for the HIV vaccine team? Word on the street is that she's turned down some very qualified people for that that job … why does she want you? No offense Gar … you're brilliant but there are people who are better qualified for that job."

"Yeah … I know … I don't get it."

Raven leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her swollen belly and frowned. "Isn't it obvious?"

Tina looked shocked as the realization dawned on her.

"No way … Alexa isn't like that."

Raven sat up straight and looked Tina in the eyes. "I think she is."

"No way, Rave, are you saying that Alexa wants to steal me from you?"

Raven frowned again. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"I agree with Garfield, that's a bit farfetched, even for Alexa."

"And why would she even want me?" The changeling remarked. "I'm green, I have …"

Raven glared at him. "You are not a freak."

"Ok, so I'm not … but you saw her Raven, she can have any guy she wants … so why me?"

Raven pursed her lips as she frowned. "I don't know … I just know that she does."

Tina smiled sympathetically. "Raven … I've known Alexa for years. Is she slutty? Sure, but she would never try to break up a marriage … no way … she'd never do that."

Raven looked at her husband's old classmate. Her empathy told her that Tina wasn't lying, that she really believed what she was saying.

But what if she was wrong?

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Later that evening…_

Raven emerged from her bathroom, wearing a thin, summery nightgown that did little to conceal her swelling midsection and her engorged breasts. She flicked her wrist and several candles flickered to life. Her spouse was already resting on their bed, read a new graphic novel. He smiled as he plopped it own on his nightstand and switched off the lamp, leaving the room cast in the candle's soothing amber glow. He pulled the sheets down and she slipped into bed next to him, resting her head on his shoulder while he caressed her belly.

"She kicked! She's gonna be a soccer player, Rave. You wait and see."

"She's more likely to be a shape shifting sorceress." She replied.

"We don't know that, for all we know she'll be fair skinned and blond."

"Like you were before that monkey bit you?" She added.

He wrapped his other arm around her. "We never would have met had that monkey not bitten me."

"We almost didn't because it bit you. You almost died from Sakutia. Your parents saved your life."

"And turned me into Beast Boy."

"Don't tell me you wish you were normal."

He drew her closer to him and gave her a chaste kiss.

"Rave, have you ever wished you were 'normal'?"

"Unlike you I never was normal; I can't even imagine what it's like. Maybe the closest I ever came was the night we saw that horror movie and I temporarily lost my powers."

"Oh yeah … I remember that. I never asked you, what was that like?"

"Being normal is overrated, I hated it, I felt naked and not in the fun kind of way."

He chuckled and gave her a more passionate kiss.

"Speaking of which, how about we have some fun?" His eyes twinkled with mischief.

"You still want to have intercourse with me? I look like a beached whale."

"Pregnant women are hot." He wagged his eyebrows at her before resuming his kisses.

"You aren't serious?"

"You don't believe me?"

"Gar, I never told anyone this … but when I was a teen I thought pregnant women were … creepy."

"Creepy?"

"Yes, I know … who am I to call anyone creepy?"

"Hey, I didn't say that. But why do you think they're creepy?"

"Why? There's another person growing inside me. It doesn't get any creepier than that."

He pulled up her nightgown, revealing her gray bulge, which he kissed several times.

"Not creepy at all."

"And you still want to make love with me looking like this?"

"Exactamundo."

"That isn't a real word."

"So?"

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ began a gentle make out session which quickly got steamier. Raven was about to removed her nightgown when her old Titans communication began to trill.

"Ignore it." He whispered between kisses.

"It could be important."

"It's probably just Grayson wanting our answer."

Raven reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her communicator.

"Then let's give it to him."

"Now?" He asked in clearly disappointed voice.

"Yes, now … and don't pout, Gar … the night is still young."

She flipped her communicator open and Nightwing's masked face appeared.

"I didn't call at a bad time, did I?" He smirked.

"Not at all." She replied in her old school monotone.

"Right … so, do you have an answer for me?"

"We do … it's still negative."

Grayson frowned. "I was afraid you would say that. Is there anything I can do to change your minds?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Damn."

"I'm sorry, Dick … do you have a back up?"

He nodded. "I do … Wally and Jinx."

Raven's face fell. "You're joking, right? They'll be terrible mentors."

"They'll be fine … Raven … if you guys won't be mentors, could you at least help out occasionally?"

She glanced at her mate, who nodded at her; she then looked back at the communicator.

"Define occasionally."

"I don't know … once or twice a week, for a few hours?"

Raven sighed. "I suppose we could do that."

Nightwing grinned.

"Fantastic … I knew I could count on you …"

"Dick … don't abuse our generosity."

"I won't … I swear. The training period will only last for a few months. Once they graduate they'll be independent, like we were."

"As long as no one gets knocked up … we'll have to make sure the infirmary has condoms … it's ridiculous, I'm a demoness and I didn't fool around, why can't they behave?"

"If they're going to be independent we have to trust them to make the right choices." Grayson replied.

Raven shook her head. "I still don't believe that they'll behave themselves after we turn the Tower over to them … but I suppose that really isn't my concern."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_A few days later …_

A small ferry pulled up to the dock and three teens hopped off the boat. They walked up the path from the dock, their eyes glued to the T shaped landmark that stood in the middle of the island. As they walked to the Tower's entrance they were joined by their two airborne teammates, who landed next to them after flying in from the mainland. The group of five greeted each other and that was when they saw the four figures waiting for them in front of the Tower's ground level entrance. They quickly recognized Wallace West, who was now The Flash and his mate, the ex-villain known as Jinx. Both were wearing their superhero costumes. Standing next to them was a smaller couple. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a T-Shirt with the Titans' logo on it. She was wearing a muumuu, which did little to conceal her very pregnant form.

"I never knew they were so small." Superboy remarked.

"They aren't that small." Cassie interjected.

"So that's Beast Boy and Raven. I read about them in the future." Bart commented.

"And what did you learn about them?" Robin asked. "Nightwing seems to think the world of them, and don't call him Beast Boy, his hero name is Changeling."

"They're gonna have five kids and help mentor us until we're ready to become the new Teen Titans.

"Raven looks like she's ready to pop." Mia noted. "Pregnant women have always given me the heebie jeebies … did you say five kids?"

"Gee, she sure looks severe, does she ever smile?" Cassie added.

"Watch it Cassie! We don't want her to hear us." Robin chided her. "Let's make a good impression."

The five teens approached the Wests and the Logans. Raven was wearing her signature blue cape and hood over her muumuu. Her cape was flapping gently in the breeze and her sharp amethyst colored eyes stood out in the darkness of her hood.

"Welcome to Titans Island." Jinx greeted them. "As you probably already know we are the Wests and we are going to be your mentors. The Logans are retired from the superhero business but have graciously offered to assist us on occasion with your training."

"Now if you'll follow us we'll give you a tour of the Tower." Gar added. "This way please."

They entered the main hallway entrance, which now resembled the way it used to look with several couches and chairs lining the walls. The five teens remained silent, feeling awkward around their legendary mentors. The assembled teens were youngsters (except for Superboy who was cloned years later) when the original Titans split up and the truth was that the Logans didn't really stand out in their collective mindset, except perhaps as historical figures. The elevator reached its destination and its doors opened, revealing what used to be the common room, which was no longer recognizable to the Logans.

The crescent shape couch was gone, replaced by 4 couches. The giant TV screen and the ubiquitous game console were also missing. The dining room was a very Amish looking set and the kitchen looked like something out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

"No TV?" Robin finally piped up.

"Not in the common room. We will gather here to interact with each other. There is a recreation room on the fifth floor. It has a big screen TV, an air hockey table and the latest GameStation console. There are also TVs in your rooms, which have been preassigned. Wally and I live on the eighth floor, Robin, Kid Flash and Superboy will be on the ninth, Speedy and Wonder Girl will stay on the sixth floor. While the Logans won't be living in the Tower we have a room reserved for them on the eight floor as well." Jinx remarked.

Connor suppressed a groan, but his displeasure at being separated from his girlfriend by two floors was detected by Raven, who moved onto the next topic.

"Before we continue our tour of the Tower, there are some rules to go over."

This time a collective groan was heard in the crowd. Raven ignored it and continued.

"First of all, there is a curfew. You must be in the Tower by 10 PM. Failure to meet curfew will result in a one week suspension and grounding. Multiple offenses will result in dismissal from the team."

"You will also be given responsibilities regarding the Tower's upkeep. We aren't your parents, so don't expect us to pick up after you. And we expect the Tower to be kept clean. Your bedrooms are your own, so it's up to you to decide how you will keep them. Also, the recreation room upkeep is your own call. We won't go in there, it's your space, but we do expect you to keep it clean." Wally added.

"Then there is the matter of personal behavior. You are of course expected to behave like superheroes. We expect you to treat each other and us with courtesy and respect. Also, and I want to be perfectly clear about this … we won't tolerate sexual behavior … both in and out of the Tower. You're still minors and if you do engage in sexual activity you will be dismissed on the first offense. Have I made myself clear?" Jinx warned them.

"But you can …" Cassie complained.

"I am an adult and Wally is my husband. Once you are ready we will turn the Tower over to you and you will be the Titans." Jinx remarked. "But there will be no hanky panky in the Tower."

"That's what they think." Bart whispered to Mia.

"Mr. Allen, is there something you'd like to share?" Raven glared at him.

"No ma'am, sorry."

"Good, now we'll continue with our tour."

Gar walked over to a very high tech looking console that was hidden away in an alcove off of the common room.

"This is the mission console …"

Robin had already walked up and was examining it.

"It's almost identical to the one back at Happy Harbor."

"Which is not surprising as it was provided by the Justice League." Raven was interrupted by a chime from the console.

"Looks like they're right on time. I'll get it, Rae." Gar interrupted as he vanished into the elevator.

"Thanks Gar."

She then refocused on her new protégés.

"You will start training tomorrow. Flash has already scheduled a session on the new obstacle course at 7 AM sharp. So don't be late."

"Excuse me ma'am" Bart interrupted.

"Yes Mr. Allen? And you may call me Raven."

"Uh … yes … Raven … so uh … when will we have our first mission?"

"That depends and how you perform in training during the next month."

"Month? You mean we're gonna have to wait an entire month?" Superboy protested.

"From what we read about you in your dossiers, it will be at least a month, possibly longer."

As the five teens moaned their disagreement the elevator doors opened and Gar emerged carrying several boxes of pizza that had just been delivered.

"I know you are unhappy with our decision, but we have thought it through carefully. Consider the pizza a peace offering." She added.

"There is a fridge full of pop in the recreation room. It's OK if you want to eat there." Jinx added.

"Thank you. Won't you be joining us?" Mia replied.

Gar raised another hand, displaying a large box with several Chinese takeout containers.

"We're in the mood for something else. Besides, you kids probably want some time on your own. Starting tomorrow you'll eat with the Wests. Do any of you know how to cook? You'll be taking turns. If you don't know how we can teach you. We'll all have breakfast tomorrow after the training session."

Superboy took the pizzas from his green mentor.

"Thanks. C'mon guys, let's go to the rec room."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Bart let a loud burp fly after eating his tenth slice of pizza. Mia and Cassie were playing some sort of gladiator game on the GameStation while Robin and Superboy watched. Conner tilted his head back as he finished the contents of a can of cola. Once it was empty he squeezed it in his hand until it was the size of a marble and he flicked it into a small recycling bin in a corner.

"Is it me, or are they all really bossy?" Connor complained.

"They're bossy, but you have to remember that they are our mentors, not our friends." Robin remarked.

"I thought living on the farm in Smallville sucked." Superboy continued whining.

"What are you talking about? Do the Kents feed you pizza? Is there a rec room with a big screen TV and a brand new GameStation?" Bart reminded him.

"I do have my loft …"

"You mean in the barn? … Get real … this is way better. Of course there is no hay for rolling around …"

"Shut up Bart!" Cassie hissed at him.

The speedster grinned.

"Is it my fault you two were dumb enough to get caught? Oh man, I wish I could have seen Mrs. Kent's face when she busted you guys doing it." Kid Flash snickered.

Before Superboy could react Gar poked his head through the door.

"Sorry to interrupt guys, I know we promised to stay out of here … Raven and I are going home now, but we'll be back tomorrow morning for breakfast and we'll help train you on the obstacle course."

"So what do we do? Wait in the Tower until tomorrow?"

"You can go out, just remember the curfew … so behave yourselves!"

Gar disappeared just as quickly as he arrived. The teens resumed their activities.

"Is there any pizza left?" Kid Flash asked no one in particular. No one answered.

The five teens took turns playing the gladiator game. As expected, Robin and Kid Flash were the best and they were getting ready to play the finale when the Tower's klaxons began to blare. They dashed out of the recreation room, the videogame's finale already forgotten and were soon in the mission alcove off of the common room. Robin's fingers began to dance across the keyboard.

"There's a robbery in progress at Jump City bank." He announced.

"Robin … remember … no missions for a month." Mia reminded him.

The boy wonder glanced at a clock.

"It's only 7:30 … who say's we're going on a mission? Curfew isn't until 10 PM, remember?"

The other four teens were grinning at him.

"Let's go then!" Robin shouted.

"That doesn't sound right Robin." Cassie replied.

"You're right, it doesn't."

"If I'm not mistaken, Nightwing used to have a battle cry he used when he was Robin." Bart remarked.

The Boy Wonder grinned.

"Of course, how could I have forgotten?"

He puffed out his chest.

"Titans Go!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

It was almost 8 PM and the sun was starting to set. Twilight was claiming the city by the bay in her shadowy embrace. Street lights were coming to life and the bay bridge was would soon be glimmering like a Christmas tree. People were in their cars rushing back and forth, too preoccupied with their evening plans to notice anything beyond the end of the hoods of their cars, and no one noticed a black disk that flew away from Titans Tower carrying two passengers as it zoomed across the bay on its way to the Little Italy district where Azarathia was located. The green and gray couple riding the disk were engaged in an animated conversation.

"They can forget it! We're not helping them!" Raven snarled. "After giving them a big speech on their training what did they do? They tried to sneak out on a forbidden and clandestine mission. Everything we told them went in one ear and out the other!"

"I'm a little disappointed too … boy, you sure chewed them out. Did you see how they all cowered?"

Raven smirked. "I still haven't lost my touch, have I?"

"The Roth Four Eyed Glare? It's a strong as ever."

"I don't know about these kids, Gar. They seem so strange … and their personal morality … it's repugnant."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "It was like that when we were teens, they aren't all that different … we were just old fashioned."

"I suppose so … am I already turning into an old lady?"

"You are going to become a mom." He grinned.

They landed on the roof of their combined home and storefront, entering their apartment via a small circular staircase from above. As the descended they heard voices coming from the kitchen.

"Who's there!?" Raven barked.

A blond teenager with a happy smile on her face emerged from the kitchen.

"Aunt Raven!"

"Melvin!" Raven cheered in reply as she glided over to her "kid" and gave her a hug.

"Wow! Look at you, you're so … pregnant."

"This is what happens when you get too friendly and cozy with a man." Raven announced as she gestured at her swollen belly. "Did you come alone?"

"Yeah, I did. Cyborg gave me the day off to come see you."

"I'll have to remember to thank him … so how did you get here from Steele City? I didn't see the T-Ship outside."

"Oh yeah … I hitched a ride."

"That's nice." Gar interrupted as he also hugged Melvyn. "With who, Bobby?"

"Oh Uncle Gar, you're still telling bad jokes."

"Tell me about it, I have to live with him. But who did you come with?"

"She came with us." Another female voice interrupted.

The smile on Raven's face evaporated when she saw the voice's owner emerge from the kitchen.

"Rita, Steve … what a pleasant surprise." Raven greeted them in a completely unconvincing tone, not unlike the one she used that fateful morning when she cooked inedible pancakes for her friends.

_**-( scene break )-**_

I know, I've spoiled you with longer chapters. I've been really busy this past week (sorry for the delay) so this is as good as it's going to be this week. Also, due to the voluminous nature of reviews received (I can't thank you enough) I'm not going to quote your reviews and only reply to them.

**Thisguy720** – As you can already see, Raven isn't thrilled with the next generation of Titans

**Banana998** – You're just going to have to be patient to find out. It will be soon.

**Me** – I felt so sorry for Artemis when Wally died (and I felt sorry for Wally too). Hence my current avatar.

**TW** – I think that Slade is maybe the one villain who really was better on the show than in the comics.

**Steel Timberwolf** – As you can see, I have changed the format to better please you. And with 32 reviews the old mailbag format was getting big, though not quite as big as you said it was. I checked and about 80% of the text is story.

**TrollingGirl** - It does seem like a coincidence, right?

**Katt In The Boxx** – Alexa does seem a bit fishy. I'm glad you love this story.

**Afangirlproblem** – You need to practice you "indoor scream" ;-) I am touched that you liked so much.

**Purplepox63010** – Raven probably would get bent out of shape.

**Guest** – These are trying moments for Raven.

**dablman2020** – I'm thinking that she still does since she's only 14

**Glacier** – I think that not having Rose in the show was a mistake, she's awesome.

**TJSC25** - Sorry about the story bumps. I'll try not to do that.

**Chayse-man** - Did you know that Madam Rouge has a shape shifting daughter: Gemini

**Adventuresstime** - Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

**EP** – All I can say is … that is very plausible.

**Apollo Child **- I do it because I'm evil!

**Kawaiitas** – That would be interesting .. a totally nutjob Alexa.

**The Cretin** – You didn't really think I would reveal who Red X is. Heck, I'm not sure Glen Murakami knows who he is.

**JOHNXgambit** – The purple shape shifter, that was Dr. Register in Beast Boys and Girls.

**Ferlion** – Thanks! I do try.

**DeeThom** - It was two years ago. I can't remember the details in my stories from back then.

**Shadico** – The kids aren't entirely gone, but they are in more of a supporting role in the story now. As for a make Logan kid, I usually use the name Mark.

**krostovikraven1** – Red X left the world as he arrived: a mystery.

**gabylokita41** – Connor and Cassie (Superboy and Wonder Girl #2) are a couple in the comics and they did get busted by Mrs. Kent in the barn, though not in the act.

**SuperNolon** – Alexa is up to something. You are now appointed as a Captain in the Jump City PD!

**Anoymous136** - Yup, this is where things really begin to change. I'm surprised so many of you remember the original story.

**Bluedog197** - Rose is pretty bad ass, Raven didn't intimidate her.

**WishToBeYouSomeday** - Patience, soon all will be revealed.

**WishToBeYouSomeday** - Did you know that in the current comics (The New 52) that BB is RED?

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** - That would be interesting. Or how about a partial clone like Superboy? The possibilities are endless!


	22. An Unexpected Guest

"Rita, Steve … what a pleasant surprise." Raven greeted them in a completely unconvincing tone, not unlike the one she used that fateful morning when she cooked inedible pancakes for her friends.

Raven gave Melvin a quick glare, one which unequivocally sent the message "You brought them here? Why?"

"Mom, dad!" The changeling stepped in to defuse the situation. "You should have called and let us know you were coming."

"We wanted to surprise both of you … Raven, you look radiant, how are you feeling?" Rita asked.

The sorceress allowed a tiny sigh to escape her gray lips. "I've been under some stress lately."

"Stress?" Mento interjected before giving Gar a stern look. "Garfield, are you treating her right? I know she's a superhero, but she is pregnant with our grandchild."

"Gar has been very conscientious; he won't even let me wash a dish, which is overkill as I'm perfectly fine."

"Then what are you stressed about, dear?" Rita asked.

Raven hesitated before answering.

"It's … something of a personal nature."

Rita smiled. "Raven, we are family, you can confide in us."

Raven quickly looked at her mother-in-law and saw the concern in her eyes. She noticed that Melvin was seated on the edge of her seat, also curious as to what could possibly unnerve her mighty Aunt Raven. These people, though not blood relatives were indeed family, even if one of them, the former actress once know as Rita Farr, was constantly getting under her skin.

"Very well … a woman from Gar's past has shown up and …"

The Steve leaped to his feet.

"Garfield! What is the meaning of this? Are you messing around?" Mento bellowed as Rita glared at her son.

"Whoa! Wait a minute, I haven't done anything."

Raven raised a hand in a conciliatory gesture. "Gar has been absolutely faithful."

"Then why are you upset, Aunt Raven? Who is this woman?"

Melvin could read her Aunt like a book. She didn't know who the mystery woman was, but she could already tell that she had unnerved Raven.

"Gar went to college with her … her name is Alexa."

Rita's eyes widened upon hearing her name, as she remembered when her son told her about the one night stand they shared. She glared at the changeling.

"Garfield, you will have nothing to do with this woman!" She hissed at him.

Raven felt her heart warm, hearing her formerly antagonistic mother-in-law come to her defense. Even if it was unnecessary, it did make her feel better.

"It's not that easy … she offered Gar a job."

"A job? He already has a job. He can turn down her job offer." Mento quipped.

"He already did, but …"

"But what, Raven?" Rita asked.

"It's a position on a team developing an HIV vaccine."

"I see …" Mento replied. "That makes things complicated."

"Very complicated … Gar would be helping countless millions if he develops a vaccine."

"Do you have any idea of why she offered him the job?"

Raven bit her lower lip. "I know that this sounds pathetic, but I'm convinced she wants to steal him from me."

"Raven, dear, are you sure?" Rita asked.

"I am an empath. I could sense the desire she feels for Gar … but the job is legitimate. Gar isn't the ideal candidate as he's more familiar with viruses that affect animals … but he could probably do it."

"And you're worried that you're putting your needs before those of the world."

"I am. I'm a superhero … I'm not supposed to be selfish that way."

"You're retired; you've earned a right to a private life." Mento remarked.

"Am I retired? Is it really possible for superheroes to retire?"

"Only you know the answer to that question."

"I know … and I fell torn."

"Raven, Garfield … you're adults … you going to have to figure this out on your own. But, I do have some advice … above all else, protect your marriage." Mento added.

Raven nodded her agreement. Rita got up from her seat and retrieved a couple of large gift bags, which she brought back to the couch.

"Changing the subject, we brought some gifts." She announced as he handed Raven the first bag.

The sorceress looked nonplussed as she reached into the bag. Its contents were wrapped in bright green tissue paper, which Raven carefully opened. It was a threadbare, blue thermal blanket.

"That was Garfield's sole possession when we adopted him."

Raven handed the blanket to her husband, who was mesmerized by it.

"I remember this … it was my blanket when I lived in Africa." His voice warbled with emotion. "When the State Department people came for me, I was crying, I didn't want to leave. A dude wearing sunglasses grabbed it from my bed and shoved it at me. He told me to stop crying and to be a man."

"Be a man? Gar, you were what? Four years old?"

"I was. I thought this was lost … it was the last thing I ever had that my parents gave me." He looked up at his adoptive parents. "Mom, Dad … thanks, thanks for saving it."

Rita smiled as she wiped a tear away. "We thought that Coraline should have that blanket … of course it's yours, so it really isn't ours to give to her."

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ rose to their feet and hugged his parents. Rita and Raven shared an especially warm embrace.

"Thanks mom." The changeling sniffled as he hugged his step mother. Rita released him and pecked him on the cheek.

"I have something else for you." Rita announced as she reached into the other paper bag and pulled out a pink box.

"You brought a cake?" Gar remarked in a surprised tone.

"Raspberry-chocolate, your favorite." She replied.

Raven got up from her seat. "I'll make some tea and coffee."

"I'll help you." Melvin volunteered.

The two women disappeared into the kitchen.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Melvin set up the coffee maker while Raven placed some dishes and forks on a tray. Melvin noticed that her "aunt" was being very quiet.

"Aunt Raven … what's so special about this Alexa? I can tell just by watching you that you don't like her. Who is she? Is she uncle Gar's old girlfriend?"

Raven didn't reply immediately, instead she filled an electric kettle with water and turned it on. Melvin didn't press the issue as she knew Raven would reply when she was ready.

"She's not an old girlfriend … they were … I don't know … friends with benefits?"

"Whoa … uncle Gar was into booty calls?"

"No, he wasn't … it was a one night stand, when he was drunk."

"And that bothers you, right?"

Raven nodded. "Yes, I don't like knowing that he's been with another woman, even if it was before we became a couple."

Melvin sighed. "You weren't made for these times, Aunt Raven."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? Are you saying that I'm too old fashioned?"

Melvin hesitated. "More like the world has changed."

"I'm not that old … Melvin, forgive me for asking, but … are you … sexually active?"

The blond girl blushed. "Uh … yeah."

Raven's face fell. "Dear Azar … you could get pregnant or catch an STD."

"I always make him wear a condom."

"Him?"

"My boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Of course I do, you didn't know?"

Raven looked dismayed. "How long have you been having sex?"

"You're freaking out … Aunt Raven; it's not a big deal. Everyone does it."

"How. Long?" The sorceress growled as her eyes glowed red. Melvin slightly flinched.

"Two years, just after I turned sixteen."

"I don't believe this; you had sex before I did and you're 10 years younger than me … so you've been sleeping with this boyfriend of yours for two years?"

Melvin didn't answer. Raven noticed her lower lip was trembling.

"Oh Azar! You've had more than one lover?"

Melvin was looking very uncomfortable. "Aunt Raven, everyone does it. If it makes you feel better, I only have sex with boyfriends. I don't do booty calls. I'm not that kind of girl. Sleeping with your boyfriend isn't considered slutty."

Raven sat down at the kitchen table, with a very distressed look on her face. "Melvin, have you ever thought of getting married some day? If you have sex with every boyfriend you have, and please don't tell me how many you've had, how can sex become a special and intimate bond between you and your husband?"

Melvin gave Raven a perplexed look. "You aren't serious, are you?"

"I'm dead serious, Melvin."

The blond pondered Raven's words. "I guess I don't think of sex that way."

"So, it's just something you do for fun?"

"I'm not into casual sex, I tried it once and I didn't like it. Like I said, I only have sex with my boyfriends."

"And you do it just for fun?"

"Is there any other reason?"

Raven didn't answer and instead tended to her kettle, which had begun to whistle. Raven dropped a few teabags into a teapot and poured in the boiling water. Melvin frowned.

"You think I'm a slut, don't you?"

"I know, you told me everyone does it. I met another of Gar's classmates. She admitted that had he been available at the time, she would have slept with him … maybe you're right, maybe I'm not made for these times."

"You're disappointed with me, right?"

"It's your life. You're 18 now."

"Aunt Raven … I'm not a slut, I'm a nice girl."

Raven glared at the younger woman. "I know … that's why I'm so disappointed." She replied as she picked up the tray with the dishware, coffee and tea pots and headed back to the living room.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"So, just two more months, right son?"

"Closer to three, but yeah, the due date is approaching fast."

"And?" Steve asked.

"I'm nervous, even a little scared."

"But Garfield, you're a doctor. And Raven's pregnancy is picture perfect, right?" Rita remarked.

He nodded. "That's not what I'm worried about."

Mento placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're worried about being a dad."

"Well … yeah … it's a huge responsibility. I mean … what if I suck at it?"

"You won't." Rita reassured him.

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do know that. I've known you for a long time Garfield Logan. You are going to be a wonderful father."

"I fully agree with your mother. You're going to be a great dad." Raven interrupted as she entered the room carrying a tray.

Garfield noticed that Melvin was pouting as she emerged from the kitchen, carrying a second tray. Raven sat down next to her spouse and began to slice and serve the cake. Garfield leaned over and whispered in her ear. "What's with Melvin? She looks like she's been sucking on lemons."

"Ask me later." She whispered back.

The assembled group chatted and ate cake until an hour later it was gone. Garfield collected the dirty dishes and after loading them onto a tray he lugged them back into the kitchen. Raven followed him after telling Rita and Melvin to stay put, they were guests after all, they didn't need to help clean up. Once in the kitchen they began to methodically clean the dirty dishes. Raven rinsed the major debris off the dishes and the hero formerly known as Beast Boy loaded them into the dishwasher.

"So what's going on with Melvin?"

Raven opened the faucet to full flow, creating some background noise to mask their conversation.

"She told me that I was an old fuddy dud for not liking Alexa. That times change and other garbage."

"Well … times have changed … not that she would know."

"She does know. She was practically bragging to me about sleeping with her boyfriends … and she's being having sex since she turned 16. She says everyone does it."

He wrapped an arm around Raven. "I hate to say this, but she's kind of right. Sure, not everyone is having premarital sex, but when I was in school … most of the guys and girls were banging each other, and a lot of them were into casual sex, and that includes Tina, Janey and Alexa."

"I feel like we're Amish or something. This is ridiculous, Gar. I'm half demon and I'm more chaste than most of those college girls."

"It really bugs you that Melvin is having premarital sex?"

"It does."

"Well … we did too."

"We were committed and engaged. It's not the same. She's rolling in the hay with whoever her current boyfriend is, she's also had casual sex. We never did that."

"Well, uh … actually …"

"You were not yourself, you were drunk."

"I knew what I was doing. I wanted to get laid."

"You were lonely."

"I could have called you more often."

"I could have called you."

"Raven, we've been over this, I'm not going to let you blame yourself. I slept with Alexa because I wanted to have sex with her. It was my mistake and I own it."

"But you regret it. She doesn't. She's proud of herself. Melvin actually thinks she's behaving morally. She thinks she's a nice girl."

"Raven, she is a nice girl. Is she making a mistake now, one that she'll probably regret later? Yeah, she is. Peer pressure is a big thing Raven. I know it affected me. I always got an earful from the guys at school, bragging about who they slept with. Even though I knew it was wrong I felt like I was missing out."

"But you never went looking for sex, did you?"

"No, I didn't, mostly because I lacked the self esteem to try. But I was horny, Rave; I really wanted to get laid. It got so bad that I masturbated almost every night. But I felt so awkward and freakish that I didn't think I had a chance with any girl, and then, out of the blue Alexa took me to her room."

"I know, you've told me about this. You said you didn't enjoy it."

"Well … I did kind of enjoy it, but later I felt … lousy. It was so empty. While we were doing it, I don't know why, but I told Alexa that I loved her. She told me to shut up and just fuck her, that I was ruining the moment."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be so harsh with Melvin, she is a good kid, even if she is too horny for her own good. She'll eventually figure out that what she's doing is wrong, and when that happens she's going to come to her wise Aunt Raven to help her straighten things out."

"Why would she ask me for advice? She already knows ten times as much about sex as I do."

"Maybe she does, but you know a thousand times more about what a committed relationship is all about. Trust me Rave, in a few years she's gonna be in awe of you, especially when she finally meets the right guy."

"I still can't get over the fact that she started having sex when she was 16. None of us were doing that when we were that age."

"We were superheroes busy saving the world. After the Titans were dissolved she wound up in a foster home and she attended public school. We lived a sheltered life in the Tower."

"But we went to college and we didn't behave like that. I can't help but feel that I let her down, that if I had been more involved …"

"Raven, you're not her mother. And it's not the end of the world. She's being careful, nothing will happen to her, except maybe getting her feelings hurt, she is using protection after all, right? She's a good kid and will wise up. That's when she'll listen to you and you'll be able to make a difference with her."

Raven mulled over his words. "This is so challenging. I've fought monsters, criminals and demons, but I'm at a loss as how to handle this. And what about our children? Will they listen to us?"

"Don't worry, Raven, it's gonna be fine. You're gonna be a great mom. You'll see. And besides, Melvin and the Boys are with Titans East now. Cy will take care of them."

Before Raven could reply a doorbell sounded. It was the doorbell for Azarathia and not their apartment.

"Should we answer the door?" Rita called from the living room.

"No, it's for the store." Gar shouted back.

After about a minute passed another doorbell rang, this time it was the one for the apartment.

"Who could it be at this hour?" Raven grumbled.

Melvin poked her head into the kitchen. "Would you like me to answer the door?"

"Go ahead, but be careful." Raven instructed her.

Melvin rolled her eyes as she made her way to the door. Be careful? She was a superhero, what could possibly happen?

The Logans were almost done cleaning the kitchen when Raven suddenly frowned. Her husband immediately noticed.

"Hey, I'm sensing something odd too." Hr remarked.

Just as they were heading back to the living room, Melvin popped her head back into the kitchen.

"Guys … you'd better get over here."

"What is it?" Gar asked. His question was immediately answered.

The Daytons were sitting on a loveseat, staring dumbfounded at the uninvited guest sitting on the couch. Raven's eyes boggled as did Garfield's. Alexa was sitting on the couch. Though she was as dazzling as ever, she was not the source of everyone's amazement. What had everyone stunned was the child sitting on her lap. It appeared to be a three year old boy … with pointy ears and green skin.

No one said anything, until Rita finally broke the silence. "Garfield, this woman says that this child is yours."

The changeling slowly shook his head. "No, it can't be … I wore a condom … we only did it once."

Alexa looked up at her former classmate. "Once is all it takes, Gar. And sometimes condoms leak."

"Why … why didn't you tell me?" He stammered.

"I don't know … I guess I didn't want to burden you. But after what Raven said a few months ago, about the father having a right to know, well, I thought about that for the longest time. I still didn't want to burden you, but then I realized that Mark had a right to know too, that he had a father and should know who he is."

Rita rose from her seat. "So … Mark is my grandson? Do you need any help?"

"Yes, Mrs. Dayton … he is. But I'm not here to ask for any money, I'm doing quite well actually."

Rita extended her arms and Alexa handed the child to her. The elastic woman's expression softened as she held the toddler in her arms. Mark smiled at her. "Hi Mark, sweetie … I'm your nana." Mark wrapped his arms around her neck.

Mento meanwhile placed his fingertips on his temples. After a long moment he released them and frowned. Alexa cleared her throat.

"If you're trying to read my mind, I'm afraid you can't."

"Why not? I can still sense your emotions?" Raven snapped at her.

"I have a Lexcorp implant installed, it blocks mind readers."

"How did you get one of those? Luthor doesn't sell them."

"My employer, Genomatics, is LuthCorp subsidiary. Mr. Luthor insists that his key employees have one installed. You aren't the only mind reader out there, Mr. Dayton."

"Dude, you allowed them to put that thing in your brain?"

Alexa smiled at her one time lover. "Gar, like I already said, I am very well compensated. Mr. Luthor can be very generous when paying his top employees, but he also likes to protect his assets. You have no idea of how far industrial espionage will go these days. No offense, Mr. Dayton or should I call you Mento? Better mind readers than you have tried and failed to probe my memories. Though I must say, I'm feeling offended. Why would I try to deceive you? I'm already wealthy; my Lexcorp stock options are worth over a hundred million."

"You want to steal Gar from me!" Raven hissed.

Alexa shook her head.

"My only interest in your husband, besides introducing him to his son, is strictly professional."

She turned to the green scientist. "Gar, Mr. Luthor's offer still stands: Ten million a year salary plus stock options."

"He's already heir to the Dayton fortune. And don't think you fool me for a second, Alexa. I could sense the lust you felt for my husband when we first met!"

Alexa smiled sheepishly. "I apologize for that, when I saw Gar again I remembered our little tryst. He's an incredible lover … you are a lucky woman to have married him."

"My husband is much more than just a sexual plaything." Raven snapped as she glared at Alexa.

"Raven, she is the mother of my grandson." Rita interrupted.

"We don't know that child is really Gar's son. This woman works for Lex Luthor …"

"Who is a legitimate businessman." Alexa interrupted.

"Yeah, right, and Brother Blood is a respected educator. I'd like to see some proof that this child is really Gar's, and I don't mean some forged birth certificate either. I want to see reld, hard proof."

Alexa looked calm as she replied. "I'll be more than happy to provide Mark's DNA for a test, but for now a simpler demonstration should suffice."

Raven crossed her arms over her swollen midsection. "I'd like to see this demonstration."

Alexa nodded, and a small smirk appeared on her face.

"Marky, will you show everyone your trick?"

The green child smiled sweetly. "But mommy, you told me not to, you said it's a secret."

"It's OK, sweetie, you can do it now."

The child beamed happily. "OK"

Rita was still holding the boy in her harms when he morphed into a green rabbit. Everyone in the room gasped.

"He's your son, Gar; I wouldn't lie to you about that." Alexa announced.

The changeling gently took the green rabbit from his mother. He stared at the creature, still unable to believe his eyes. Then to his great surprise, the rabbit spoke. "You're green too!"

"He can talk when in his animal forms!" The former Titan gasped. "How does he do that?"

"You mean you can't?" Alexa asked.

"No! And I've been trying for years. What did you do to him?"

Alexa shrugged. "Nothing … well, I guess half of his DNA is mine, maybe that made a difference somehow."

Rita noticed that Raven was slack jawed. She approached her daughter-in-law and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry, dear, this changes nothing between you and Garfield."

Raven knew that wasn't true. Not only had Alexa slept with Gar before she did, she was the first one to give him a child.

Everything had suddenly changed.

_**-( scene break )-**_

So the cat is out of the bag. It looks like Gar has a son (we won't know for sure until the DNA test is done). And we know that Alexa works for Lex Luthor, which is never a good thing, even if he is a "legitimate businessman".

And now, for a shout out: "Titans Fall" by Steve 6363 is a new story that's showing some promise. Go check it out and leave him a review or two while you're there: www dot fanfiction dot net/s/9273374/1/Titans-Fall

And of course, the mail bag replies. The number of reviews remains stunning for this story.

**Sweetums14** – As Raven just learned, teens are indeed something else.

**EP** – Poor Raven, things just took a turn for the worse for her.

**Katt In The Boxx** – It really wasn't that short, just shorter than some of my longer chapters. Of course, shorter chaps mean more frequent updates.

**Glacier** – From what I read there were licensing issues with the original show, which is why Batman was never mention by name, though there were indirect references to him. The new show, while crappy compared to the original, doesn't seem to have such restrictions. Also, a lot of things in the new show don't make sense (I know, the new show is a parody of the old show). For instance, why would Bats and Jim Gordon be sitting in a police car … in Jump City? I also believe Wally didn't die in Young Justice, but now we'll never know.

**gabylokita41** – As you can see, the Dayton's came to make nice with Raven. Then Alexa showed up!

**Windregon** – Thanks, I'm glad you like it. And thanks for reviewing.

**Pb3** – This is the fan fic that doesn't end, it goes on and on my friend! Just kidding, it will end.

**TW** – You know it!

**DeeThom** – It seems like Rita has finally accepted Raven.

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** – Aren't you glad Raven wasn't busting your chops?

**JOHNXgambit** – If I was Raven, I'd go with the four eyed glare, which is much creepier in the comics.

**Bluedog197** – Every story needs someone you love to hate. That is Alexa's job.

**The Cretin** – I love Rose in the comics. She wants to be good, yet she's slutty and she's Slade's daughter too (who can escape that?).

**TJSC25** – Don't get too hung on the five kids. Bart Allen is known to be a BS'er.

**Anoymous136** – Jinx was strict with the Hive, not that they paid any attention to her.

**WishToBeYouSomeday** – In laws are always fun! Not!

**Shadico** - I think that forcing poor Raven to have five kids would be cruel. Of course now that she feels that she's in competition with Alexa, maybe she will pop them out. Then again, Alexa has a killer figure, no point in furthering that advantage for her.

**checkit789** – Well, Alexa has made her move, the question that remains is: Why?

**krostovikraven1** – Sounds like you're a onetime mom, Darn! I was just going to ask if you'd have a baby for me! (Just kidding).

**js12601** – I haven't followed Raven in the New 52, mostly because she doesn't have her own comic book and is relegated to "guest starring" in other comics. That said, I heard that she has kind of possessed BB.

**Adventuresstime** – Causing trouble is Alexa's job.

**Densharr** – Yeah, I goofed spelling Melvin's name. I guess it's shown in the Teen Titans Go comics.

**SuperNolon** – I would think that Raven goes four eyes while BB bangs her, and he loves it!

**Death Stroke The Kid** – Do you really want spoilers?

**Chayse-man** – Alexa is mysterious, but she does work for Luther and has that implant in her brain.

**titanfan45** – Even Wally grows up.

And

**Steel Timberwolf – **You didn't review! And after I changed the mailbag format at your request. I'm wounded!


	23. The DNA Test

The green rabbit, still in the Changeling's arms morphed back into a toddler. He smiled at his putative father and Garfield instinctively smiled back. Rita produced her mobile phone and snapped a few pictures.

"I don't believe it … I have a son, I've had a boy for over three years … Alexa, you should have told me when you got pregnant."

Alexa smiled sheepishly. "Well … you weren't the only guy I was fooling around with at the time, so I didn't know he was yours, at least not until he was born."

"Well, there's no doubt now that he's mine."

"We still don't know that he is really your son … we need a DNA test." Raven interjected.

"Rave, you gotta be kidding. I mean, look at him, how could he be anyone else's boy?" Her husband replied.

"Raven's right, we should do a DNA test, no matter how much he looks like you." Alexa remarked. "Then we'll know for sure."

"Know for sure? He can morph! He's green and has fangs and pointy ears. Who else but me could be the dad? I don't remember seeing any other green shape shifters in Fort Collins."

"He can talk when in his animal forms … you can't." Raven grumbled. "We need a DNA test to be sure."

"Rave, why bother? It's obvious that he's mine."

Alexa cleared her throat. "Raven is right; we should have a DNA test done, just to be sure. There are a few labs here in Jump; we can take Garfield and Mark tomorrow to get tested. One of the labs is a LuthCorp operation, and I can get the work expedited …"

"No, I want Cyborg to run the tests. Gar, I want you to collect the samples and we'll send them to him."

"Rave, the labs in town will do fine. We can skip the LuthCorp one if it makes you feel better. I would do them myself, but I don't the right equipment."

"No, do as your wife says, Gar, she's right. These tests and their results have to be beyond reproach." Alexa added. "I want you and Raven to be 100% certain that Mark is your son."

"Why is this so important for you? And why do you want me to be certain?" Raven asked Alexa in her old school, emotion free, gravelly monotone.

"Because if Mark is going to become part of Gar's life, I want you to be on board."

Raven started at the wretched intruder. Why did the troublemakers always have to be blonds? And this nonsense of Mark becoming part of Gar's life, talk about being disingenuous. It was more than obvious that Alexa's real objective was to weasel herself back into Garfield's life, who was she kidding? But the worst thing of all was that everyone else was buying into the charade. Rita was suddenly thrilled at becoming a grandmother. What about Coraline? Was she suddenly forgotten in this unexpected emotional whirlwind?

"You want me to be 'on board'? You just showed up with a boy who you claim is my husband's illegitimate son and you want me to participate? This isn't a family reunion."

Ignoring Raven's outburst, Gar and Rita sat down with Alexa, peppering her with questions. When was Mark's birthday? What was his first word? Raven watched with a jaundiced eye, stewing in her juices and almost didn't notice the presence next to her. She looked up and saw Steve's severe expression as he too watched the scene unfold. He suddenly looked down at his daughter-in-law and they locked eyes.

"I have a bad feeling about this." He murmured to her.

"You don't trust her?" She whispered back.

"Not as far as I could throw her … good idea having Cyborg perform the DNA tests. I wouldn't put it past Lex Luthor to pay off every lab in Jump to give you a false report."

"I don't understand, what do they want with him? He isn't the ideal candidate for the job."

"I don't know, Raven. I'll have Questor look into this HIV vaccine program. I smell a rat."

Raven nodded. She remembered meeting Vernon Questor once. The man ran the Dayton's business for them; much like Lucius Fox managed Wayne Enterprises for the Dark Knight. He was a very capable man with powerful connections in the global business community. If anyone could find out what was really going on with the Luthor's vaccine program, he would the man for the job.

"Smell a rat? That's not hard to do when Lex Luthor is involved … Steve?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you … for accepting me."

"I'm sorry that I took so long, but I can sympathize with you. Everyone thought I was crazy when I married Rita. The common wisdom was that since she was a Hollywood actress that she would be unfaithful and that our marriage wouldn't last long … but I trusted her. Just like Garfield trusts you."

"If I may ask, did Rita sign a prenup?"

"I never asked her … and I know Garfield didn't ask you either. Of course it wasn't necessary, you've done well for yourself, Raven. You're the world's premier ancient artifacts dealer and your business is very profitable, you are a multi-millionaire … you've done very well, you married my son after all."

"I like to think that Gar did well himself when he married me."

Mento gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "He did, and for the record, even if Mark really is Gar's son, I still think of Coraline as my first grandchild, even though she still hasn't been born."

Raven gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that, but why?"

Mento glanced over at Alexa.

"That woman isn't my daughter, and she never will be … but you're a member of my family now, you are my daughter."

Raven took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Thanks … dad."

Raven turned her attention back to the couch where Melvin had joined Gar, Rita and Alexa. She frowned as she saw her husband smiling at the small boy.

"Gar, let's take those samples now, so Alexa and her son can go back to their hotel."

"You mean we can't stay the night?" Alexa smirked. "We are practically family after all."

"Sorry Alexa, but we already have a full house tonight; otherwise you and Mark would be welcome to stay." Gar lied diplomatically. He knew better that to have her stay at the house, even if Mark was his son.

"It's OK, Gar." She replied as she picked up the boy. "We have a hotel room at the Four Seasons … so, let's get these samples taken."

"I can take them in my clinic downstairs … I'll show you the way."

Raven followed Gar and Alexa down to the clinic, and Melvin joined them. The Logans had built a small corridor to connect the two buildings and they entered the clinic through a door at the end of the hallway. Gar flipped a switch, illuminating the clinic's reception area. Alexa walked around the room with a mild smirk on her face, stopping in front of a poster that extolled the virtues of heartworm prevention medication. She traced her finger along the edge of the graphic.

"So this is what you'd rather do?" She asked as she walked over to his desk. "You'd rather be a small animal veterinarian than find a cure for AIDS?" She picked up that St. Francis statue that Raven gave him when the clinic first opened.

"Gar has a special fondness for animals." Raven replied as she firmly grabbed the statue, taking it from Alexa and placed it back on his desk.

"I'm sure he does." Alexa replied.

Gar emerged from one of his labs with a pair of test tubes and a pair of still wrapped, sterilized cotton swabs. He took a sample first from himself, inserting the swab, mounted on a stick into his mouth, taking a generous sample of his saliva after which he inserted it into a tube and sealed it, writing his name on the outside of the tube with marker. He repeated the process with the small green boy, asking him to open wide.

"I'll FedEx these to chrome dome in the morning."

Raven took them from him. "I'll take them to him right now."

"You're gonna teleport all the way to Steele City?"

"Why not? I've done it before."

"Not in your condition."

"Gar, I'm pregnant, I'm not sick."

"Shouldn't you at least call him first? It's three hours later over there. He might be in his recharging station by now."

Alexa picked up her son.

"Before I head back to the hotel, I just wanted to let you know that Lex Luthor would like you to be his guests for dinner tomorrow night."

"That won't be necessary, you already have our answer." Raven replied.

"Raven … give Lex a chance, I think that you'll find him to be very persuasive. Like I do, he feels a great deal of passion for the vaccine program. Gar … please come … do it for Mark, and for me."

Raven narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

Garfield heaved a weary sigh. "Fine, we'll go, just so that I tell Luthor in person that I'm not interested."

Raven brightened upon hearing his words.

"Once you hear his pitch there's no way you'll be able to say no." She smiled. "And once you have those DNA tests back, you'll know Mark is your son … this is so exciting, we're going to be one big happy family!"

"Family?" Raven interjected. "Gar already has a family, and you aren't part of it. You aren't his ex-wife; you had a one night stand with him. That doesn't make you a member of our family."

Alexa grinned sheepishly. "Forgive me for my enthusiasm. I guess I got carried away after seeing father and son together."

"That has not been verified yet."

"Of course, but you can't blame me for being excited. Gar has always been a good friend, and the prospect of him once again being more than just that … well, what can I say?"

_Oh, I have lots of things to say_. Rage fumed deep within Nevermore.

"Good night, Alexa." Raven politely dismissed her, concealing perfectly the maelstrom of negative emotion that was teetering on escaping from her mind, with the expected consequences in the real world.

"I'll send a limo for you guys tomorrow at 7. See ya!"

Raven watched from the clinic's front door as Alexa drove away with Mark in her rental car. Her heart sank deep into her stomach. There was virtually no doubt in her mind that the green boy was her husband's illegitimate son, but as she clutched the two test tubes she briefly considered praying to the God her husband worshipped, to beg Him for a miracle. She desisted however and instead flipped open her old Titans communicator.

"Raven calling Cyborg."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The old Fab Five, along with Bumblebee, sat around the round table with the Titans logo on it. Steele City's nighttime skyline was visible through the large windows, shimmering like a jewel in the dark. Nightwing stared incredulously at the large screen TV, which displayed a collage of the pictures of Mark that Rita took with her phone.

"He does look like you, but I still can't believe that's your son. Why didn't she tell you before?"

Raven leaned forward and answered for her husband.

"Some rubbish about not wanting to burden Gar. How convenient that now that she wants him to work with her that she suddenly decided to tell him about this boy. Dick, please thank the Justice League for teleporting us here … you were right, Gar, I couldn't do it, not for all three of us."

"Told ya … I am a Doctor, you know?"

"You're a DVM, grass stain." Cyborg chided him.

"Simian physiology is nearly identical to human." He snapped back at his friend.

"How much longer until the tests are done?" Raven asked with a hint of impatience in her voice.

"The test is automated and there's about five minutes left."

The sorceress's face betrayed an uncharacteristic look of worry.

"I think we all already know the answer … that test is only going to confirm that child is Gar's."

"Raven, even if that's true, it doesn't affect you guys. B's your man and he always will be, right, grass stain?"

The changeling took his wife's hand. "Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I know, but if he's your son then you have to make room for him in your life, and that means making room for her too."

"Don't worry, Rave, if it comes to that, I'll make sure there's a firewall in place."

"A firewall?"

"Yeah … if Mark is my son, I'll arrange for joint custody with Alexa, but I'll minimize my direct contact with her."

Raven frowned at him.

"That sounds easier said than done. There will be countless situations where you'll inevitably have to be with her just because you're with him."

"And at those times I'll make sure you're there with me. I'll never be alone with her. Never. I promise."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a laser printer warming up, preparing to print the test results. The conversation at the table ceased as they watched the printer eject a single sheet. Raven leaped to her feet and snatched it from the output tray. She quickly read the results and from the expression on her face they knew what the result was: Mark was indeed Garfield's son.

Raven dejectedly handed the sheet to Cyborg, who hunched over as he read it more carefully. When he was done he raised his head.

"It says that 70% of his DNA matches BB's. That's pretty high, but when you think about it, the kid probably wouldn't be able to morph if it had a more average mix of genes."

The changeling sighed. "I'm sorry, Rave, I really am."

"It's not your fault … she took advantage of you … still … I'm not happy about this. This is going to make things complicated, really complicated."

Starfire wrapped an arm around her friend. "You know that I am always here to support you."

Raven returned her hug. "I know … thank you."

"So what are you gonna do next, BB?" Bumblebee asked. That she used Cyborg's old "bro name" for him did not go unnoticed by the changeling.

"Well, we're gonna see her again tomorrow, so I guess I'll tell her the results."

"I see, so you were planning on telling her the results in person? You could have done it on the phone, you know?

"We're having dinner with her and her boss. He thinks he can talk me into joining the vaccine program."

"Who is her boss?" Starfire asked.

Raven crossed her arms and frowned. "It's Lex Luthor."

Nightwing smiled. "Well, at least we know there's no way Garfield will accept that job. No self respecting superhero, active or retired, would ever work for Lex Luthor."

_**-( scene break )-**_

As promised, a limousine pulled up in front of Azarathia at 7PM the following night, and its driver, a burly looking woman dressed in a revealing chauffeurs' uniform, wearing dark shades emerged from the car and rang the apartment's doorbell.

Raven, who was dressed in the nicest maternity clothes she had, which is to say she was dressed rather informally in a black corduroy maternity dress with her signature cape and hood, answered the door. Gar was right behind her, dressed in business casual while Steve, Rita and Melvin weren't far behind.

"Good evening, my name is Mercy; I'll be your driver tonight." She paused as she noticed Mento and Elastigirl along with Melvin. "I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding, only the Logans are on Mr. Luthor's guest list tonight."

Raven kept her blank poker face on. She knew who the infamous "Mercy" was; she was far more than Luthor's driver. The woman was every bit the elusive criminal he was.

"Do you know who I am?" The helmeted superhero asked.

"Yes, I do. You are Mento of the Doom Patrol; you are also Steve Dayton, CEO of Dayton industries. An impressive résumé, but you still aren't on the guest list."

Mento frowned as he was temped the read the insolent woman's mind, only desisting when he remembered the chip that Alexa and all of Luthor's key employees had embedded in their skulls.

"It's OK, Steve; we can take care of ourselves." Raven soothed him.

"I am fully responsible for your safety, and I assure you that you are as safe as if you were in Superman's arms. Now … if you'll please follow me, Mr. Luthor is waiting for you."

Raven arced an eyebrow. She knew from official reports that Mercy was a woman, but she wondered if the driver had grown a pair of stones, given her excessive and misplaced bravado. Mercy opened a door and gestured them to board the limo, which they did.

Within minutes they pulled up in front of the Château du Lyons, Jump City's most posh and expensive restaurant. Mercy once again opened the door and they made their way into the restaurant's reception area, where a snooty looking Maître d' scrunched his nose as they entered.

"I know who you are, but we have a dress code here. I'm sorry, but gentlemen are expected to wear a suit and tie. And Madam will need a proper evening gown and it makes no difference that that you are superheroes."

Gar glared at the man. "We don't need to put up with this, Rave, let's just go home."

Mercy suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. "Dr. Logan and Dr. Roth are Mr. Luthor's guests."

A mortified expression appeared on the stuffy greeter's face. "My apologies … why didn't you tell me?"

"You never gave us a chance." Raven droned in her monotone, which betrayed a slight hint of her displeasure.

"Again, I apologize … please follow me."

The Maitre d' led them to a private room, where Lex Luthor was sitting at a table with Alexa. They both rose from their seats to greet the Logans.

"Dr. Roth, Dr. Logan, I'm so glad you accepted my invitation. Please have a seat." The bald billionaire gestured at two empty chairs.

There probably wasn't a person on Earth who didn't know who Lex Luthor was, he appeared constantly in the media. Seeing the man in the flesh, however, was another matter altogether. The man had an imposing presence. Even though he lacked any kind of superpowers he was definitely the archetype of the alpha male. He oozed self confidence and it was obvious that the man was used to getting what he wanted. The Logans also knew that he was a master of being able to come out of a dung pile smelling like a rose. Try as he did, Superman and the Justice League never seemed to be able to get a jury to convict the man.

The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ accepted his invitation and took their places at the table. A waiter appeared and poured sparkling mineral water into their wine glasses. The Logans did not drink any of it.

"We already have an answer for you, Luthor." Raven announced in her monotone.

Lex smiled. "Before you give me your answer, I would like to tell you about the program. And if you'll forgive me, I already ordered dinner for everyone."

Another waiter appeared, with servings of tomato bisque, which he placed in front of everyone. Luthor and Alexa took sips from their soup.

"It's exquisite, my compliments to the chef."

"Thank you, Mr. Luthor."

The waiter quickly disappeared and Alexa smiled at the changeling. "Try the bisque, Gar, its vegan."

He tasted it. "Yeah, it's good."

"So, Gar, what are the test results?"

"They were positive." He muttered.

"I never doubted it." Alexa gloated as she glanced at Raven.

The sorceress allowed an unhappy sigh to escape her lips. Luthor raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Raven turned to him. "Let's get this over with … we aren't interested in dinner, just give us your pitch and we'll turn it down and go home."

Luthor frowned. "Very well … I wanted to make this pleasant, Dr. Roth, but per your request I'll get to the point."

"You can call me Dr. Logan." She replied.

"How traditional of you, Raven. I always thought of you as a liberated woman." Alexa interjected.

"I took my husband's name to honor him."

"I'm sure you did."

"Ladies … can we stick to the program?" Luthor interrupted, with a slight hint of irritation present in his otherwise jovial voice."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor." Alexa meekly apologized. Raven offered no apology of her own.

"Very well. I don't need to tell you that the HIV virus has become a scourge around the world. Other than promoting safe sex programs, which are often ignored, there is no way to prevent the spread of the disease, though its spread had been slowed considerably. There is however, a new problem."

"What do you mean by 'new'?" The green vet asked.

"There has been a new mutation. In the past, the HIV virus was transferred primarily via sexual contact. That has changed; it can now be transferred as easily as the flu or the common cold." Luthor handed Garfield a United Nations report. "This news has been kept secret from the public to prevent a global panic. So far it has been quarantined where it first appeared, in parts of Uganda and Kenya. Unfortunately the new virus is extremely virulent and there is a very real possibility that the quarantines will fail."

Garfield opened the folder containing the report and saw a map with the affected regions.

"The virus infects its victims quickly and thousands have already died once their immune systems failed. If the quarantines fail we could have a worldwide pandemic on our hands. The possibility of humanity's extinction has become a very real threat. The United Nations has commissioned LexCorp to find a solution to this problem."

"How quickly could this spread?" Raven asked as Gar studied the report.

"It could be completely global even before Coraline is born." Her husband remarked in a deadpan voice.

"Now do you understand the urgency behind getting you on board, Dr. Logan? Five months ago we were merely working on a vaccine for conventional HIV. Such a vaccine would have made me a lot of money, but now there is a lot more at stake than amassing a fortune, mankind's very survival is now hanging in the balance. I've been busy recruiting anyone and everyone who can help with this endeavor. Can humanity count on your help, Dr. Logan?"

"You do know that we will verify everything you have told us?" Raven interjected.

"Check with the Justice League, they will confirm everything that is in that report I gave you … so, Dr. Logan, are you on board?"

Gar looked at Raven. "I don't have any other choice, Rave …"

"I know, Gar, I know."

The room fell silent.

"OK, Mr. Luthor, I'm on board."

_**-( scene break )-**_

It sure seems like we hit a low point in the story. The DNA test came back positive, the world is threatened by a deadly virus and Gar is going to be working closely with Alexa.

Now it's mailbag time. Wow, the reviews keep pouring in! If this keeps up this story will be my most reviewed. Thanks!

Maddielove95 – It does look like a lost cause, doesn't it?

Wolf of IndigoRiver – I am committed to updating at least once per week.

elixxxrAngel – Alexa has a way of showing up at the worst time possible.

DeeThom – The question is, who is really weaving the web of deceit?

SilentGoddest – Thanks.

TW - Would you have preferred the Joker?

Kidstandout - BB is kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. All I can say is that he will do the right thing.

Death Stroke The Kid – Things are not always as they appear. Good luck with school!

SuperNolon – Well, the DNA test came back positive, but right now BB has bigger fish to fry.

Bluedog197 - You are one of the few who was scandalized by Melvin's confessed behavior.

titanfan45 – Virtue is timeless, my friend.

The Cretin – I hope you get your computer fixed soon.

JOHNXgambit - I would go with Lex Luthor

TJSC25 – If Raven is smart (and she is) she will keep a very close eye on Alexa.

Sweetums14 – Someone once told me "Never have sex with a woman unless you are willing to have a child with her"

Katt In The Boxx – Sadly, I think I might have left you in a worse place than before.

gabylokita41 – Things will change, that much is certain

EP – I will endeavor to update quickly

Anoymous136 – Nope, 3 is the correct age, though he is almost 4

krostovikraven1 – Alexa does raise suspicions, heck, she works for Lex Luthor

Apollo Child – That's what Alexa wants you to believe ... bwahahaha!

Hairul The Nightrage Beast - I think only BB can appreciate Raven's little quirks.

Chayse-man – I received quite a few

WishToBeYouSomeday - That's what the DNA test says.

Guest – Yeah, it's kind of like real life. They don't teach you how to deal with that in Superhero school!

Adventuresstime - I agree, it isn't poor Mark's fault

Thisguy720 – Off like last week's fish!

js12601 – That is a tantalizing possibility. But what would Luthor's motive be?

Gyhy – Good question. Who knows?


	24. A Deal WIth the Devil

The room fell silent.

"OK, Mr. Luthor, I'm on board."

"Excellent! Your contribution may very well save the world! But I suppose that as retired superheroes that you are more than accustomed to that role."

Raven suddenly felt numb. She knew that he had to do this; the world was counting on him. But it also meant that her husband would be working, in some capacity, with the blond who was sitting opposite from her. Alexa had a pleased look on her face.

"I'll make all the arrangements for your relocation." She announced between sips of her soup.

"Relocation? Are you saying that Gar has to move?"

"Yes." Luthor replied. "In order to study the virus we had to bring some of it here to the USA, under strictly controlled conditions. All work will have to be performed at a special Luthcorp facility near Metropolis that is ready to go online, where there is no risk for the virus to escape. It will be a closed environment, which means that Dr. Logan will effectively be sequestered. Entering and leaving the facility will be a rare event due to safety issues. Of course the facility provides housing and every creature comfort, so there will be no real need to come and go."

"So, in other words, it's a fancy prison." Raven remarked.

"I am afraid so, Raven … you don't mind if I call you by your first name, do you? Of course, you are welcome to stay in the lab to live with your husband, but you could potentially expose yourself and your unborn child to the virus. The risk is minimal though, and you wouldn't be the first family living in the facility. In fact, Dr. Pontone will be bringing her son with her."

"I'm not letting you install one of those chips in my head or in Raven's"

Luthor made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "That won't be necessary; all of our findings are the property of the United Nations and consequently will be in the public domain. You won't be learning any Luthcorp secrets."

"You won't need to pack much beyond your clothes and other personal items. Everything else will be provided." Alexa interjected. "Plan on moving into the lab in four days."

"What about Raven's and Coraline's medical care?"

"We will have a medical team on site with a well staffed clinic. Should your daughter be born before we develop the vaccine, we will have everything required." Alexa replied.

"No expense will be spared, we need you to be able to work and not worry about anything else." Luthor added. "Everything else will be taken care of for you: meals, laundry, housekeeping, entertainment, you name it. We will even help you suspend your businesses, or in your case Raven, we can put someone in Azarathia to help you run your business remotely from the lab. If you have any needs or issues just let Dr. Pontone know and she will make sure that it's taken care of. She will always be there to help."

Raven suppressed a frown that was threatening to appear on her face. She knew that there was some risk in moving into the lab with her husband, but she also knew that if they failed to create a vaccine in time that she might die even if she stayed home in Jump.

"Rave, you could go off world, you could go to Tamaran or Azarath."

Luthor shook his head. "It's too late for that. Earth has been quarantined. The Green Lantern Corp will be enforcing that, and that includes blocking dimensional jumps as well, so Raven can't leave for Azarath either. I'm sorry."

"Then it's settled, we're coming with you, Gar."

The changeling nodded. "OK … so, what happens if we fail, besides the obvious?"

"I believe that the Green Lanterns will throw the Earth into the sun to destroy the virus. And right now there are many other worlds that want that to happen to us immediately, apparently other races besides humans are vulnerable to the virus, so the blockade is two ways. The Lanterns are also protecting us from an alien attack."

"Great, just what we need to add to our mound of problems."

The waiter showed up with their salads.

"Madam, you haven't tasted your soup. Was it not to your liking?"

"I'm not hungry." Raven replied.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The limo ride home after the dinner was a quiet one. The Logans didn't feel comfortable discussing the evening's events inside of Luthor's limo and sat in silence during the ride home. Mercy promptly delivered them to their front door and Raven thought she saw a smirk on the woman's face as she opened the limo's door for them. They entered their apartment where the Daytons and Melvin, all with grim looks on their faces, were waiting for them.

"Questor found some information about the vaccine program … it isn't good news." Steve announced in his Doom Patrol voice. "There's a new super virus."

"Yes, we know." Gar announced in a defeated tone.

"You accepted the job, didn't you?" Melvin asked.

"What other choice did I have? Did Questor find out why Luthor is running the program? And how come we didn't know?"

The group sat down in the apartment's small living room.

"According to what Vernon leaned, the UN wanted a single point of management for the project. Dayton Industries was not informed nor invited to bid. There were only three groups considered to run the project. Luthor won over Wayne Enterprises and Sivana Inc." Steve remarked.

"What, they were considering giving the project to Dr. Sivana?" Raven gasped.

"He was the distant third choice; it really came down to Luthor vs. Wayne. Unfortunately, Bruce's fictitious playboy image harmed Wayne's bid, so Luthor won the project. Vernon also found out that Luthor is building a secure facility just outside of Metropolis. It's like something out of the Andromeda Strain; a huge underground complex with all sorts of fail safes and biological security measures. It even has a self destruct in the case of a catastrophic viral breach. A small yield nuclear warhead would vaporize it before anyone or anything gets out. Of course that would be academic. If the research facility is destroyed, there would be no way to stop the pandemic; it would only be a question of time."

Melvin gently pulled Raven aside. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to stay with Gar at the lab."

"Because of her?"

Raven hesitated before answering. "In part, yes. I don't trust her. Not for a minute. But I also want to be with him. He'll be under a lot of stress, and I'll do everything I can to help him deal with that."

Melvin glanced at Raven's swollen midsection and smirked at her "aunt".

"Yes, I know, I'm in my third trimester … you do know that there are other ways to be intimate besides coitus?"

"Yeah … but they're not as fun."

Raven slowly shook her head. "Whatever, I'm going with him. This could be the end of the world, and if it is, I want the three of us together if it comes to that."

"Will Uncle Gar be able to find a cure?"

"He won't be working alone; hundreds of the world's top scientists will be there. If they can't do it, then it can't be done." Raven narrowed her eyes. "But you, you are going to change your behavior."

"What do you mean?" The blond girl asked.

"Melvin, a condom won't protect you from this virus. If the quarantine in Africa fails the disease will spread quickly. Intimate contact could be dangerous; your partner could transmit the virus to you before he even knows he has it. He doesn't even have to kiss you. He could infect you before anyone knows that the quarantine has failed … for all we know it already has failed."

"So you're saying that I have to barricade myself in the Tower? I'm a superhero … I can't do that."

"Once the epidemic starts there's nothing you or the Titans will be able to do to help, the best thing you can do is quarantine yourselves in the Tower and hope that a cure is found before the Green Lanterns throw the Earth into the sun."

Melvin bit her lower lip, a gesture she learned from her grey aunt. "So, this is serious; as in end of the world serious."

Raven nodded. "Whatever God you believe in, Melvin, pray that Gar and his colleagues are successful."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Titans East Tower, the next day …_

It was early in the morning and the sun was just rising over Steele City bay, its amber glow casting log shadows. Nightwing was up, while his wife and daughter along with everyone else in the Tower continued to sleep. He was on his way to the gym for his morning workout when his communicator chirped, informing him that there was an unread, confidential message for him in the mission console. He took a detour to the common room, which was still dark and empty at the early morning hour. He stepped up to the mission console and logged in. He clicked on the message in his inbox and it requested a second password to access it. He furrowed his brow as he typed in his root password and read the confidential message he received, which was from Garfield in Jump City. After reading the message he stared off into the void, feeling overwhelmed and powerless. He reread the message, just to be sure there had been no mistake, but the words were there in black and white: "pandemic", "extinction", and "end of the world".

Just as Grayson closed the message there was an incoming call, which was coming from off world. He answered it and Hal Jordan's masked face appeared on the screen.

"Sorry if I woke you up early, Grayson, but this is important."

"I know, I just learned about the planetary quarantine."

"Sorry about that, it just went into effect."

"I understand … so why are you really calling?"

"There is an exemption … I had to go all the way to Oa to get it."

"What kind of exemption?"

"For your wife and daughter. Galfore is threatening to start an interplanetary war unless they are allowed to leave Earth. The Guardians agreed to allowing them to leave as long as Tamaran is quarantined for 60 days after they arrive."

"Thanks, Hal, but I don't think she'll leave."

"Galfore has threatened to attack Earth and retrieve her by force."

"They'll never make it past the blockade."

"They won't, I have over one hundred Green Lanterns surrounding the Earth, but there will be many casualties on both sides. Grayson … you need to convince her to leave, right now."

"She won't leave me behind."

"You are authorized to leave with her."

"I can't do that, Hal. I can't leave during a crisis."

A somber expression overcame Jordan's face. "Dick, do you know how many humans there off world right now, not including John, Guy and Kyle and I? I'll tell you how many: seventeen. If the Earth is destroyed there will be twenty one human beings left in the whole universe. Four of them will be Green Lanterns and one will be a Star Sapphire. That's all we'll have left to restart the human race. Dick, you have to go to Tamaran, I know you don't want to do that, but right now it's the only way you can help ensure the survival of the human race."

Nightwing sighed, betraying that he was overwhelmed. "Hal, this goes against everything I believe in …"

"I know, Dick, I know. But there's no time to waste. We've set up a station in orbit as a command post. I want the three of you to teleport there and I'll personally smuggle you from there to Tamaran. But we have to move fast, there are observer fleets approaching, to make sure the blockade is being upheld. They'll be here within a few hours and once they're here I won't be able to smuggle you out … it's now or never, Dick."

"Ok … I'll just need to make arrangements; I need to let Cyborg know that we're leaving …"

"No, it has to be kept a secret. No one can know that the Green Lantern Corp smuggled you off Earth … Grayson, you need to go get you family ready right now."

"But …"

"Now."

"OK, fine; I'll go wake them."

"Five minutes, Dick, that's all you got. I'll call back and you'd better be ready."

Jordan severed the link and as soon as his image disappeared from the screen, Nightwing dropped an F-bomb before running back to his room.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven groaned as she lowered herself into her bed. "If anyone had told me that this is what being pregnant was like, I would have had my tubes tied."

"I'm sorry, Rave, I know that this wasn't a good day."

"Well, aren't you the master of understatement. Let's see, we learned that there's a virus deadly enough to end all life on Earth and there is no cure for it. And you're going to work for Lex Luthor, who is perhaps the most evasive and slippery criminal in the world and if that wasn't bad enough you're going to be working closely with your old girlfriend, who still looks like Miss Universe even after giving birth to your illegitimate son, while I look like a beached whale."

"She wasn't my …"

"I know, I know, I'm being bitter … so sue me."

"I'm sorry, Rave, I really am. If I could undo that mistake, I would."

"Just the thought of you and her …"

He placed his fingertips over her lips, gently shushing her. "Don't say it; I also hate to think of it."

"We won't have to think of it … Mark is going to be there too and she's going to demand that you spend time with him, and also with her. We're going to be living in close quarters Gar. We're probably going to have our meals with them in the dining hall."

"She isn't my wife, you are. That's all there is to it."

Raven shook her head. "No, it's not. Don't you understand? That boy is yours and Alexa's flesh and blood. Through him you are permanently bonded with her."

"Raven, she isn't my wife or my mate or even my girlfriend."

"She's more than any of those things, she's the mother of your first born … Gar, I'll do my best to not let this affect me, but it's going to be hard."

The changeling sat up in the bed they shared. "Maybe … you shouldn't come."

"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you alone in there with her. She'll be all over you and get you back into her bed."

"What!? Do you really think I would do that?"

She shrunk away from him. "No, I don't … I'm sorry."

The changeling lowered himself back into the bed and pulled her close to him. She reclined her head on his shoulder while he caressed her very pregnant belly. As if on cue, Coraline kicked.

"Now that is beautiful."

"Says you, lately she's always active when I want to sleep."

"She'll be born before we know it."

"I know … but will there still be a world for her to live in?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

The princess was slumbering peacefully in their bed and Nightwing approached his wife with a heavy heart. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently roused her.

"Star, Kori … wake up."

She slowly opened her eyes, which glowed with a pale phosphorescent light. "What is it, Richard, is there a mission?" She asked in a drowsy voice. "I did not hear the alarms."

"No, there is no mission … Kori, we need to leave, now."

The Tamaranian sat up in the bed, now wide awake. "Leave? For where? And why?"

"For Tamaran."

She got out of her bed. "Is my beloved Tamaran under attack?"

He paused upon hearing her words. If he lied, he could probably get her to safety. But that was something he could never do. Not to her, he could never lie to her.

"No, it's not. Earth is in trouble and Galfore wants us to return to Tamaran."

"I do not understand. If Earth is in trouble, should we not stay to defend her?"

"That's the thing, Kori, we can't defend her, it's beyond our abilities. There is a plague. The planet is about to be quarantined and we have just five minutes to leave otherwise we will be trapped here and might not make it out alive."

"But … we would be abandoning our friends."

"I know, but Kori, there are only a handful of humans off of Earth. This plague might kill everyone. And Galfore has threatened to forcefully remove you if you are still on Earth when the quarantine begins. It could lead to a galactic war between Tamaran and the Green Lantern Corps."

The princess narrowed her eyes. "Did you say that the Green Lanterns are blockading Earth?"

"That's right, is there a problem with that?"

"The Green Lanterns are not considered friends on Tamaran. I welcome a war between my people and the fascist Green Lantern Corps."

"Whoa! Star, I know a few Green Lanterns, trust me, they're the good guys."

"Are they? What will they do if we cannot stop the plague?"

Grayson began to hem and haw. "Well … I think the plan is for them to shove the Earth into the sun."

"So they would destroy a world before saving it? Is that what the noble Hal Jordan told you they would do?"

"Only after everyone has died of the plague."

"Yes, that is the way of the Green Lanterns. They do not help; they are merely the self appointed police of the universe."

A small view screen came to life in their room, and Hal Jordon's anxious face appeared on it.

"Are you ready to teleport? Time is of the essence."

Starfire stomped up to the screen. Her hair looked as if it was on fire and her eyes were so bright that her pupils were no longer visible.

"We are not leaving Earth!"

"But Starfire …."

"Address me as Princess Koriand'r, for only my friends can call me Starfire, and you, Green Lantern, are not my friend!"

"Not your friend? I attended your wedding for Pete's sake! And why won't you leave Earth? Don't you know that time is running out?"

"Be gone, Lantern, I do not wish to speak with you!"

Jordan turned towards Nightwing. "Grayson, talk some sense into your wife. A war could erupt."

"I welcome it."

"But you will lose. With all due respect, while Tamaranians are strong warriors, they are no match for the Green Lantern Corps."

"We do not fear death, Lantern, we are bound by honor. Can you say the same?"

Jordan heaved an exasperated sigh. "I tried to help, Grayson, I really did. But we've run out of time."

The Green Lantern crossed his arms. "You guys are on your own. And remember princess, any blood that will be shed, is on your hands."

_**-( scene break )-**_

A short chapter as I am short on time.

I also found something interesting. I was reading "Read Hood And the Outlaws. Vol 2" and a threesome of multicolored aliens are referred to as the "Chromatically Challenged Trio". I have no idea if the writer, Scott Lobdell, got that from one of my fan fics, but its fun to think that maybe he did!

Again thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I am overwhelmed by your responses; I know you hate it when I skip the mail bag, so here is a very brief shout out to everyone who reviewed:

SuperNolon - A lot of people are jumping on the clone bandwagon

ToraHimeSama - I am always touched when someone hurries to catch up ith the story

adventuresstime - And I and also touched by your trust

goldenrod51 - That would be tricky

LSUABW - She knows that the world's needs trump her own

gabylokita41 - Not everything with Mark is as it seems

Anoymous136 - No he's about the right age. The one night stand was just before grad school and that took 4 years.

titanfan45 - So true. I once heard a saying: "Don't sleep with a woman unless you are willing to have a child with her."

krostovikraven1 - I can only imagine how hard it must be to deal with a spouse's ex

Sweetums14 - She is in a bad place now.

Katt In The Boxx - Sometimes I feel that way about Alexa too. It's fun!

Densharr - He's a teddy bear ... with mental powers!

Wolf of IndigoRiver - And it gets even worse.

TW - Oooh, what an evil tought!

WishToBeYouSomeday - Patience grasshopper!

SilentGoddest - Check out my one shot "Why Didn't I?" if you haven't already done so

Thowell3 - He couldn't be a perfect clone, as he can talk when in his animal forms.

Ejammer - Lex is a great villain. So cold and calculating and yet so suave.

JOHNXgambit - All I can say is ... Duck!

Bluedog197 - Alexa must be Terra's long lost sister.

Nohbody - I hope I addressed your objections to your satisfaction.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast - We won't even go anywhere near where Carved went. But I will rewrite Carved and it will be much better.

DeeThom - Evildoers are not above stabbing each other in the back

js12601 - BB is going to be under a lot of stress. That much is sure.

RobStar243 - Thank you for your kind words.

Maddielove95 - Welcome back! Tell your friends to join our party.

TJSC25 - Alexa doesn't know about Rage ... an introduction is in order, don't you think?

elixxxrAngel - What, you want a spoiler? ;-) Of course you don't!

Chayse-man - Thanks for the compliment. They are always appreciated.


	25. Kommand'r

The Great Hall in the Royal Palace of Tamaran was used for many purposes. It was a massive room, by far the largest one in the huge palace. Starfire's providentially botched wedding to Glrrrdlsklech was held in the Great Hall as was the welcome home banquet that Galfore had organized there earlier. The Great Hall was used often in times of peace, but it was also used during times of war. It was located deep in the heart of the palace and was also a bunker, impervious to any bombardment.

Military personnel were milling around the room, data pads tucked under their arms as they came and went, men and women of varied ranks. Their green eyes glowed in anticipation of the battle that would soon come. Tamaranians were not a race known for invading other worlds. Despite the fact that they were a fierce race of warriors they were not known for rattling sabers unless there were attacked first. They were content to isolate themselves from the problems of the universe and they especially despised the Green Lantern Corps, who were known to butt in where they weren't wanted.

Two giant holographic spheres floated in the middle of the room, like giant soap bubbles. One was a translucent model of the Earth. It rotated slowly while a bright red star glowed where Steele City was located, on the eastern US seaboard. Floating above the Earth were over one hundred emerald dots, each one representing one of the Green Lanterns who collectively were enforcing the blockade on the diseased planet.

The other globe represented Tamaran, which was surrounded by what appeared to be thousands of red dots, all of which were in geosynchronous orbit around the planet's equator, forming an artificial ring around the planet. The model showed a steady flow of red dots rising from the planet's surface, each one representing a Sunfire corvette, a small vessel with a crew of five and armed with laser cannons and torpedoes. On an individual basis they would be no match for a single Green Lantern, but there about three hundred corvettes for each of the Guardians' emerald knights.

Galfore sat on his throne with a scowl on his face. While the numbers were clearly in his favor he knew that the Green Lantern Corps were not to be trifled with, which is why he had assembled his best generals and other officers, each of which was, in turn, giving the Grand Ruler his or her best sales pitch on a strategy with which to defeat the Green Lanterns and forcefully extract Starfire and her daughter from the quarantined planet, using the floating holograms to demonstrate their plans. None of the presenters included Nightwing in the rescue plans and that suited Galfore just fine as he watched simulation after simulation. All of the proposed plans had weaknesses and drawbacks, which did not go unnoticed by the former knorfka. The Justice League would be of no help, as they agreed that the planet should be quarantined but who would only tolerate Earth's destruction once all its inhabitants had perished.

What also didn't escape his sharp eye was a violet colored dot that suddenly appeared, which was an indication that it had just dropped out of hyperspace and entered into orbit over the marble patterned planet. Galfore raised his hand, shushing the current presenter, a young woman with a hook where her left hand used to be. She fell silent as he rose from his throne and pointed at the purple dot, which had already been intercepted by a few dozen Sunfires.

"What is SHE doing here?" He grumbled.

"Shall we repel her?" The woman with the hook asked in voice that betrayed her eagerness. "I would be honored to do so myself."

"No, General … allow her to land … I will deal with her myself. Have her brought to me as soon as she touches down, I wish to have words with her."

The female general bowed politely, after which she shut down her simulation and rushed out of the Great Hall. Galfore sat down on his throne and frowned once again. She had a knack for appearing at the most inopportune moments.

He didn't have to wait long, as within minutes the ear shattering fanfare of Tamaranian trumpets echoed in the Great Hall as the uninvited guest arrived, greeting her with an honor she relished though she did not deserve it. She charged into the hall as though she owned the place and marched straight to Galfore, stopping before him. Her face was adorned with a scar on her left cheek that was almost eclipsed by the smirk that was plastered on it.

"Kommand'r, your banishment has not been revoked. Why are you here?"

Blackfire's eyes were as cold as ice. "I have returned to serve Tamaran."

"You serve no one but yourself."

"That is usually the truth, but today I am here to serve our kingdom in its time of need."

"You make it sound like we are beggars. We have no need of your assistance."

"I disagree."

"How so? Will you commit some form of fraud against the Green Lanterns? What will you steal from them? Or have you come to betray Tamaran to Oa in exchange for being appointed the Grand Ruler?"

"No, Galfore, I have come to share my wisdom with you."

"And what would that be? What knowledge do you wish to share with me?"

"It's quite simple: Do not rescue her."

Galfore's eyes flared with indignation.

"Are you saying that we abandon her to her fate with the wretched humans?"

"Abandon her? In case you have forgotten, she was offered safe passage off of that blue marble called Earth and she refused it." She whispered as she leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"That is supposed to be a secret. How did you know?" He seethed.

"I have my ways." She sneered.

Galfore glared at the dark haired princess. "You are a source of never ending trouble."

"Me? It was Koriand'r who refused the Green Lanterns' offer of safe passage. And why? Because she took that puny human as her mate, instead of choosing one of our own people."

The old knorfka growled in a nearly sub audible tone. "I will never understand why she chose him … but we cannot leave her there. If the humans do not find a cure for their plague their world will be destroyed, and Koriand'r will perish with it."

Blackfire sat down on the Grand Ruler's lap. She smiled sweetly at him while she stroked his hirsute ear. "This is a battle we cannot win." She cooed.

"I disagree, the Lanterns are not invincible."

"Even if we win, the casualties will be staggering. It is too high a price to pay." She blew into his ear.

Galfore pushed her away. "Your sister's death will not get you back on the throne."

"You think I don't know that? But tell me, who will lead this rescue? General Kessa'd? She was promised to him since birth, now that she has married Nightwing, he has no incentive or desire to rescue her. And he is our best general."

"He is not our best general … I am."

"You aren't serious, Galfore? Sure, in your prime you were a great warrior, but you are far too old to …"

"BE SILENT, KOMMAND'R!" He bellowed. "This does not concern you, for you are a traitor! Guards! Escort the princess to her ship and make sure she departs immediately!"

She smirked as the guards grabbed her arms.

"That's going to be a problem, Galfore dear. You see, my ship isn't space worthy, and right now there is no one available to repair it, since we are preparing for war. I could fly out under my own power, but with all those nasty Green Lanterns coming and going."

A frustrated sigh escaped Galfore's lips. "Fine, you may stay … but I do not interfere! If you do, I will have you thrown into the dungeon!"

A young officer approached Galfore. "Grand Ruler, I can keep an eye on her."

Galfore looked at the young man, a mere lieutenant. "You are Frassa'd, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Fine, whatever you do, don't let her out of your sight."

"As you command, Grand Ruler."

Blackfire frowned before heading for the exit. Frassa'd ran after her. Galfore shook his head, then gestured to the general to continue with her presentation. A pair of guards opened a giant double door through which they passed. As soon as the princess and her escort were alone she turned around and kissed Frassa'd. A wicked grin appeared on her face.

"I knew his vanity would get the best of him. He's going to lead the attack against the lanterns. The fool will die! And if we are lucky so will my sister and then …"

"You will once again be the Grand Ruler, milady."

"Yes, I will … don't you love happy endings, Frassa'd?"

"I live to serve you, princess."

"And a good thing, too. It's been over a month since I last got laid. Come, Frassa'd, your duty to your princess calls."

_**-( scene break )-**_

A pair of gray hands carefully folded the tiny baby clothes, which they packed into a suitcase. Her face did not betray the turmoil she was feeling. While she would take off her mask for her spouse, she wouldn't do it for anyone else … not even for herself. She closed the suitcase just as her husband entered the room.

"Our ride is here … are you ready?"

"I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

The changeling picked up the suitcase and wrapping an arm around her, he led her out of the room. Once in the hallway she stopped dead in her tracks and stared back at the room they shared.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"I don't know … I guess I'm wondering if I'll ever see our room again."

"Hey … we're gonna find that vaccine and everything's gonna be fine, you'll see … come on, let's go."

They exited the building and locked it behind them. Another limo waited for them at the curb, this time it was an ordinary car for hire and the driver, a young Hispanic man, was already loading their luggage into the trunk. The door to the passenger compartment was already open and as they drew near they could distinguish a silhouette through the heavily tinted windows. Gar held Raven's hand as she boarded first and was followed by her husband.

"Good Morning, Logans!" Alexa greeted them. "Ready to go save the world?"

"Been there, done that." Raven replied in the driest of monotones.

Alexa ignored her remark and instead focused on the green toddler who was sitting on her lap. Mark had suddenly become very bashful with the Logans' arrival and buried his face into her bosom as the limo pulled away. She pulled him away and turned him around so that he was facing Gar.

"Marky, you don't need to be shy. Do you remember who this is?"

The child smiled, but didn't speak.

"You know who I am, little guy, don't you?"

"You're my daddy!" He blurted out. Garfield lifted him under his arms and transferred him to his own lap, kissing him on the crown of his head.

"You got that right, little buddy. What kind of animals can you be?"

"I can be a bunny."

"What else?"

Alexa leaned forward, placing a hand on Gar's forearm while Raven watched with vigilant eyes.

"He only began to morph a few months ago. He did do a cat and a dog once, but he really seems to like rabbits."

Gar picked him up and raised him until they were face to face. The nuzzled noses and the boy giggled.

"I'm gonna teach you how to morph into all kinds of animals, champ. You'll see."

Raven closed her eyes. It was going to be a long trip.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The video feed was cut and Jordon's scowling face disappeared. Nightwing stared at the now blank screen.

"Kori … why?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

"I don't believe this, are you really too proud to accept help from the Green Lantern Corps?"

"It is not a question of pride."

"Then what?"

Nightwing nearly gasped when he saw the look on her face. That Starfire was an alien was not a secret, everyone knew that. But it was easy to forget; even though her complexion looked like an artificial tan gone bad and her eyes had a faint green glow to them. She was so lovely, so beautiful and above all, so sweet and kind that one could be forgiven for thinking of her as human. But she was not human. Her race, unlike humans from Earth, descended from fierce feline like creatures. And deep inside of the princess lurked a predator, a creature that much like Beast Boy's 'Beast' and Raven's four eyed alter ego, she kept hidden and under wraps. But now her true essence was on the surface, and for a brief moment Grayson did not recognize his wife.

"The Lanterns … they did not come to our aide when the Citadel attacked. They claim that it was because of a treaty signed eons before with the Psions, one that forbade them entry to the Vega system. When we called for help they did not come, and now, they are threatening to destroy the Earth."

"Kori … they have no other choice. If the plague gets off of Earth, if other worlds are infected, trillions … quadrillions could die. And they promised to only destroy the Earth only after all life has perished."

"I cannot be infected. Tamaranians are immune to all forms of the HIV virus."

"Then why are you staying? You should take our daughter and leave while you still can."

She frowned at him.

"When I was betrothed to Glrrrdlsklech, you did not forsake me, though that is what you should have done. Had I lost the challenge against my sister she would have executed all of you along with me. And yet you stayed with me. Now that I am your spouse do you really expect me to abandon you here on Earth? I know that you would not leave, even though there is nothing that you can do to help. You are a man of deep honor, Richard Grayson. You would never flee to save yourself. And even though I am your wife, I would not ask you to leave."

"But Kori, once we humans die, the Lanterns will destroy the Earth, and you and Nightstar with it."

"We will die with you."

"No! Listen Star, you and Mar'i are going to leave now."

"We will do no such thing."

"Galfore is coming for you, and he won't take no for an answer, that is if he can get past the Lanterns, which I doubt. Do you have any idea of how many deaths there will be?"

"As I already told you, we are a warrior race. And if we are defeated, we will lose with our honor intact."

"There is no 'if', Kori. The Lanterns will win, and Galfore will probably die. If you are trapped on Earth, who do you think will take over on Tamaran?"

He princess's eyes widened with alarm. "I did not consider that."

"You know you have to leave, Kori. There is no other way."

She pursed her lips as the bitter truth sank in.

"I will go, but only if you come with me."

"I can't."

"But there is nothing you can do here."

"I'll go help enforce the quarantine. That should buy time for Garfield and the other scientists."

"Then I will stay too."

"No, you have to take Mar'i to safety. She is half human and she might be vulnerable to the virus … Star … if you won't do it for me, do it for her."

She frowned at him. "You fight dirty."

"I know … and I'm sorry."

Grayson went back to the console and his fingers danced across the console. Within seconds Jordan's masked face reappeared on the screen.

"Is there still time?"

Hal smiled. "I see that you made her come to her senses."

"She did that on her own." Grayson glared through his own mask. Jordan nodded.

"Three to teleport." The Lantern intoned.

"No, just two. I'm staying."

"Nightwing, we already discussed this, you need to come."

"I can't, now take them before it's too late."

"As you wish, Grayson."

Dick hugged his wife and daughter. "No matter what happens, I'll always love both of you with all my heart."

"I love you too, my …"

Starfire's reply was interrupted as they began to sparkle and were teleported away. Grayson stared at the spot where they were standing, which suddenly looked as empty as he was feeling. With a bitter expression on his face he turned away.

"Time to get to work." He mumbled to himself.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The limo stopped in front of a guarded gate at the airport's private plane section. The entrance was nondescript, with an ordinary looking booth and a simple arm like barrier. A small sign next to the booth read "Private Property, LuthCorp, No Trespassing". A stone faced guard emerged from the booth, looking unhappy at being disturbed from his perch. The driver rolled down his window and handed the guard an id card, which he swiped through a portable card reader. A green LED lit up on the handheld device and he handed the card back to the driver, giving him subtle nod, after which he raised the gate and the limo passed through the entrance.

The car's next stop was in front of a gleaming corporate jet. A stewardess was standing next to the entrance hatch, smiling. Her name tag read "L. Jones". After opening the passenger door the driver moved their luggage to the jet's cargo hold. Alexa led the way and they stopped at the jet's door.

"Good Evening, Dr. Pontone. Hello Marky. I see we have company today."

"That we do Lisa. Dr. Logan and Dr. Roth will be travelling with us to Metropolis. Please tend to their every need, especially for Mrs. Logan."

Lisa Jones smiled at Raven, doing her best to not look at her swollen belly. "We're anticipating a smooth flight, Dr. Roth. You just sit back and relax, and I will take care of everything."

The woman was smooth, Raven remarked in her mind. She made no mention of her condition.

"Thank you, Miss …" Raven glanced at her nametag. "Jones."

Lisa gestured for her passengers to board. Once inside she led them to their seats. She gave Mark a cookie and told them that they were cleared to depart. She closed the hatch and told the cockpit crew that they were ready to go. She buckled herself into her seat in the galley and within minutes the jet was roaring down the runway.

As soon as they were airborne and had reached cruising altitude she unbuckled herself and emerged from the galley, ready to check on her passengers. To her surprise she found Raven in her seat, cross legged in the lotus position. She gave Garfield an inquisitive look.

"Rave doesn't like flying in airplanes, the last time we were in a jet, it was shot down. I know it's kind of odd, because she can fly on her own. Anyway, she'll probably meditate until we get to Metropolis."

"I see … can I get you anything, Dr. Logan?"

The changeling grinned. "How about some more cookies? I think Mark and I need to have a cookie eating contest!"

Lisa laughed. "I have a whole box in the galley. I'll be right back."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Things were not looking so good in Nevermore. While the skies in the real world were clear and free of turbulence, it was a very different scene in Raven's mind. The sky overhead was dark and cloudy, with occasional flashes of lightning. Raven took in the scene around her and frowned.

"Great, it's even worse than I thought." She grumbled.

"What did you expect to find? A scene from 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'?" A guttural voice boomed from behind her. Raven didn't need to turn around to see who it was, but she did anyway.

"I thought we agreed to not talk about that anymore." Raven hissed at the red caped, four eyed emoticlone.

"You know how pathetic you are, Raven? Even your secrets are lame. Real women have juicy and tawdry secrets. Like having an affair with Nightwing behind Starfire's back while you were engaged to the green bean. Now that would be hot. But no, your shameful secret is that you're a Brony. Lame-o!"

"That's all you think about, having sex with Nightwing."

"Why not? The man's got it where it counts, have you seen the size of his package when he wears his tights? Of course you have! I can only see what you see … and what I feel … you feel. Right?"

"This is a pointless topic of discussion … we have a real problem, in case you've forgotten."

"You mean the hussy? Sure, I agree. She shows up, jiggling her jello and shaking her booty and just makes herself at home with our man. And why? Just because he knocked her up? She's a whore and we know it."

"For once, we agree. So what do you propose we do?" Raven asked.

"I say we keep it simple. We gut her, then cut her head off and mount it on a pike. That'll keep any future interlopers away. Oh, and after that we have a roll in the hay with Grayson to celebrate!"

"As usual, your counsel is idiotic." Another voice interrupted.

"Oh great, it's the insufferable know it all." Rage grumbled.

"What good would it do to murder Alexa?" Wisdom asked as she materialized in front of Raven and Rage.

"Well, for starters, it would feel good to carve her up like a Thanksgiving turkey."

"And we would become murderers." Wisdom retorted.

"I don't see a problem with that."

"Garfield would hate us if we did that." Timid piped up.

"Shut your yap, you wussie. You're the reason we never got laid in college." Rage flared.

Raven cleared her throat. "Pointless fantasies aside, what should we do about Alexa? We're going to be living in close quarters with her for who knows how long, while she uses Mark to get close to Gar."

"You have nothing to fear, Raven. Garfield has sworn himself to us." Love interjected.

"Yeah, right, he totally prefers this:"

Rage morphed herself into a grotesquely exaggerated pregnant shape.

"To this:" Her figure turned into a perfect replica of Alexa's shape.

"Our pregnancy is a temporary condition. Once Coraline is born we will resume our old form and will more than easily hold our own against her." Wisdom remarked.

"Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror? We're short, our boobs and hips are too big, and we're freaking gray with purple hair." Another emoticlone, this one was Insecurity, screeched. "If we weren't so weird we'd be the ultimate plain Jane."

"Hey, we got the goods. Gar wants to bang us every night, sometimes more than once!" The Pride emoticlone shouted. "And he howls like a wild animal when we do it. Plain Jane my ass! We just touch him and he gets a boner, a really big one."

"QUIET!" Raven shouted. The emoticlones fell silent, even Rage became subdued. "I need real advice, not this intramural bull shit." She turned to Wisdom. "So, what is your advice?"

"We should trust our husband. He vowed to be faithful to us and we have no reason to doubt him … however …"

"However what?" Rage snarled.

"The boy. He is Garfield's son. We have to accept him."

"In case you forgot … HE'S HER EFFING KID!" The Jealousy emoticlone shouted.

"Hear, hear!" Rage added.

"Yes, he is Alexa's son, but if we reject the boy we will open a door for Alexa to draw our husband away from us." Wisdom continued. "She is using the boy for that purpose. She wants to exploit our greatest weakness." She glanced at Rage, who stuck her tongue out at her.

"I don't know if I can accept the boy as my own." Raven sighed.

"You don't have to accept him as your son; just don't be hostile to him."

"I was hoping that we'd come up with something better than that." Raven moaned as she felt as if she was being shaken.

_Raven, wake up_

The gray sorceress opened her eyes. She looked out one of the windows and saw that they approaching the runway. They were in Metropolis.

Now the real challenge was about to begin.

_**-( scene break )-**_

I almost made a big goof in this chapter. I was going to use Lisa Ashmore again. I really like Lisa; I made her up in The Joker's Shadow. The thing is I almost forgot that I already killed her off earlier in the story (oops!).

So now it's time for the mailbag. 34 reviews. I'm touched!

**chica13** – Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like the story.

**checkit789** – Lex has a certain arrogance that makes him endearing.

**TheDarkChangeling** – I apologize, I was busy and had a bad case of writer's block.

**Glacier** – You're not the only one who thinks Mark isn't really his son.

**EP** – I hate it when my ISP goes down!

**gabylokita41** – Poor Marky, he is a sweet kid, it's not his fault that Raven isn't his mother

**TW** – Nightwing put his foot down. But now the two sisters are back together, which is never a good thing.

**Katie** – I like BBRae stories too, but you never would have guessed that, right?

**RobStar243** – Things appear to have calmed down on Tamaran, for now.

**SuperNolon** - Well, the war has been averted … at least for now.

**DeeThom** – It's like life, yo never know what you're gonna get.

**Maddielove95** - She did, very reluctantly.

**Adventuresstime** - I hope you liked this chapter.

**Katt In The Boxx** – I think Raven might also be wondering about Mark being able to talk.

**TJSC25** – Spoiler, there will be a showdown with Rage, but it won't turn out the way you might think it will. And Raven is a bit prudish, for her, sex is too intimate to engage in casually.

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast** – I know, it's hard to come up with a truly original idea, because there are so many other writers.

**Death Stroke The Kid** – I'm so glad you think that way. This confirms that the story is far better than the original.

**Sweetums14** – I still haven't seen that movie.

**Xxmatriarch** – You were bored! I'm wounded!

**JOHNXgambit** – Maybe a steam shovel would be better

**krostovikraven1** – Rage is biding her time. She is one horny little emoticlone, isn't she?

**Anoymous136** – Alexa is a scientist and she works for Luthor to boot.

**Bluedog197** – Alexa does come across as Terra's long lost sister. She's just a lot hotter than Terra!

**Wolf of IndigoRiver** – In the comics there is some "history" between the Green Lanterns and Tamaran

**Dvasapolli** - I'm not that good, but thanks!

**ToraHimeSama** – The butt kicking will come, oh it will.

**Kidstandout** - I can't imagine would trust her

**WishToBeYouSomeday** – The war has been averted, for now

**elixxxrAngel** - Living in an underground lab can't be fun.

**St Rhon** – I never really got into the Green Lantern stories. They do seem kind of stuck up. I like Kilowog though!

**Dragonkyng** – That would be interesting

**Chayse-man** – You are so forgiving!

**titanfan45** – There is a level of tension building up. Alexa is playing her cards carefully though

**js12601** - I like writing little chats between the Chromatically Challenged Couple™


	26. The Lab

Grayson stared at the spot where his pregnant spouse and daughter stood just moments before. That they would be safe on Tamaran was a relief for him. At the same time he felt his heart sink into the bottom of his stomach, as he knew that he might never see them again, or ever see his second born at all. And he was going to volunteer with the quarantine taskforce in Africa, which meant that his job was going to be keeping people from escaping from the region where the outbreak had begun. He would be effectively containing them, even those who were not infected, and sentencing them to a certain death. So in effect, what he would be doing to these innocent people was the very same thing the Green Lantern Corps was doing to Earth. It would be cold and heartless; there would be no option to show mercy. It simply had to be done for the greater good.

The worst part of it all was that he now had to break the news to his teammates. He sighed and as he made his way out of the bedroom he walked past the mirrored sliding closet doors. His reflection looked slouched and broken. He stopped and grimaced at what he saw.

_Pull it together, Grayson._

He assumed his normal posture and frowned at his reflection.

_That's better; you're a hero Grayson, so act like one._

Minutes later Nightwing entered the common room. Cyborg and Bumblebee were having breakfast, chatting quietly while Aqualad and Speedy were playing a videogame. Teether, Tommy and Melvin were cleaning up in the kitchen. The tin man looked up when the sliding doors opened.

"Yo, Nightwing, we gotta talk, something big is going on. Something really big."

"You mean all the Green Lanterns in orbit?"

Cyborg's face fell.

"You know about that already?" Cyborg frowned. "What else do you know?"

"Everyone, stop what you're doing and come here. You all need to hear this."

The three teens in the kitchen stopped their cleaning while Speedy and the Fishstick shut down their videogame and took their places at the round table with the large T emblazoned on its surface.

"Where are Starfire and Mar'i?" Melvin asked.

"They're on their way to Tamaran."

"Nightwing, what's going on? What are you not telling us?" Bumblebee asked in a low, accusatory tone.

Grayson explained to them about the plague, the quarantine, Garfield's involvement with a search for a cure, the averted war between the Green Lantern Corps and Starfire's unplanned exile back to Tamaran. After he finished a dead silence hung in the room. Aqualad was the first to break the silence.

"What about Atlantis? The virus will never get there, plus we Atlanteans are immune to HIV anyway. Are they just going to throw us into the sun as well?"

"I'm afraid so Garth. The Guardians on Oa have decided this and they have the support of the intergalactic community. In fact, if it wasn't for the Guardians and the Lanterns, we'd be toast already. The InterGalactic Congress wanted to destroy Earth immediately. The Guardians decided to give us a chance to find the cure. They won't have the Lanterns throw Earth into the sun until all hope is lost."

"And when will that be?" Speedy asked.

"When everyone is infected and dying … which leads to the next thing I'm going to tell you … I'm going to help enforce the quarantine."

Gasps were heard around the room.

"Nightwing, you can't be serious … not everyone in the quarantine area is infected." Tommy croaked in disbelief. "It's a death sentence."

"You think I don't know that? But if the quarantine in Uganda fails, the plague will spread like wildfire. It will be a death sentence for the human race."

Grayson rubbed his temples. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but the quarantine is slowly failing. The infected area is growing. The better we contain it, the more time we buy for Garfield and the other scientists to find a cure … and the way things are going now, time isn't on our side."

"So, I take it you're leaving immediately." Cyborg asked.

"Yes, as soon as I pack, I'm off to New York. The United Nations is coordinating the quarantine. Do any of you want to join and help?"

The only response he received was a sea of blank faces. He was expecting that. They were too emotional, unable to slash through the layers of sentimentality that blinded them from seeing the difficult yet correct choice that had to be made.

"If any of you changes your mind, I'm planning on leaving in an hour." He announced in a dry, emotionless voice as he turned to leave.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The limo stopped in front of a chain link gate. There was a small guard booth with signage indicating that this was a weather monitoring station for the National Weather Service and that trespassing was forbidden by federal law. A collection of temporary structures stood beyond the fence, along with various anemometers, Doppler radar dishes and other various sensors.

"Nice cover, no one would guess that the lab is here." Gar mumbled as a security guard checked the limo's driver's ID and waved them through.

"I take that this facility isn't new." Raven added.

"Luthor built this place years ago to study alien biology. It was never used. It's one of the reasons he won the bid. Neither Wayne nor Sivana had anything like this, ready to go online." Alexa replied.

The limo pulled around the back of the makeshift complex, where another guard stood by a door. Alexa emerged from the car, carrying Mark. As she approached the door the guard opened a panel on the wall, exposing a retinal scanner. Alexa leaned over, placing her right eye over the reader. Seconds later a loud clunk was heard behind the door, which the guard pulled open, revealing a oversized elevator. Alexa beckoned the Logans to follow her and once the door behind them closed they began their descent, which was prolonged. As they descended Alexa continued speaking.

"The complex is one thousand feet underground, and is serviced by three elevators like this one. The top ten levels are habitat levels. The top two are the commons and they include the dining hall, various sporting facilities, including two pool areas, one which is clothing optional."

"I thought this was a work facility." Raven interrupted.

"It is, but people need to be able to blow off steam. And just so you know, anything goes in the clothing optional pool area. So don't go there if you are easily offended by nudity or open sexuality … there is also an open bar, which is the only place you can obtain alcoholic beverages in the facility."

"Do you also provide hookers and blow?" Raven asked.

Alexa smiled. "Cute … Most of the staff is young and single, so we expect there will plenty of hooking up. Like I said, the staff will need a way to deal with the stress. They can find it in the bar or the bedroom, most likely both. Of course, drunkenness isn't tolerated and women outnumber men by almost two to one, so we don't expect any testosterone induced fighting."

"You seem to have this all figured out. Are we the only married couple present?"

"Not at all, there are others, some younger, some not. I expect you will socialize with them, at least when we aren't together."

Before Raven could think of something to say the elevator came to a halt and with a chime the doors swung open, revealing what could have passed for a small shopping mall. There were dozens of "stores", which carried all sorts of items, which were free of charge.

"This way, we need to get you registered." Alexa smiled again.

She led them to what looked like a hotel check in counter. The song "Hotel California" suddenly played in Raven's mind. A clerk grinned at them.

"I see that the Logans have arrived. I'm Matt McCall; I'm the concierge here at our little resort."

"You're a … concierge?" Raven asked warily. "You're kidding, right?"

"Matt is married to Dr. Barbara McCall. Outside he's an advertising executive. Since he chose to come with his wife he needed something to so. He graciously volunteered to be our concierge, a job he shares with Cynthia Brossard. We allowed the researchers to bring spouses and significant others with them, and since we have need of many people to perform non research work, it's a win-win."

"Alexa's right. My job is to make sure that all of your needs are taken care of. If I can't do it, I'll find someone who can. And speaking of which, Dr. Roth, we have a library that hasn't opened yet. We were wondering if you would like to be our Librarian."

Raven hesitated at first. "Well … I suppose I could help out there."

"Fantastic! Now we just need to check you in. I'll need your biometrics." He announced as he gestured at a palm reader, which looked just like the ones they used to have in the Tower. Raven placed her palm on the reader, and after Matt typed a few commands it scanned her hand.

"Perfect, now I just need to take a picture." He pulled out a digital camera and snapped a shot of Raven. "Excellent, you're in the system now."

He then pulled out what looked like a large stapling gun. "Now if you'll give me your right arm."

"What is that?" The changeling barked.

"Relax Gar; Matt's just going to insert an RFID chip in Raven's arm, right under her skin. It's harmless, it's just like the chips you put in dogs and cats. We all have one. It's important to know where everyone is at any time."

"I see Luthor thinks of everything." Raven remarked dryly as Matt applied the chip into her forearm.

"It's why he won the bid."

Matt repeated the check in process with Garfield.

"OK, your room is 7123. The seventh level has been reserved for married couples or anyone with children. Your palm is your key. Of course, we know that Dr. Roth can phase through walls, but we'd prefer it if you didn't do that … it messes up the RFID chips … so any questions?"

"What about the medical facility?" Garfield asked.

"It's on level 2. I got Tina Felty to run it, she's arriving tomorrow." Alexa interrupted. "It's gonna be like old times Gar, except for Janey, she actually turned down the offer to work here, all because of a misunderstanding."

"Do you sleep with everyone's boyfriends and husbands?" Raven hissed.

Alexa looked startled for a split second, before recovering. Matt looked away, also looking embarrassed.

"I thought you were an empath, Raven, not a mind reader."

"What other kind of 'misunderstanding' would you have had?" Raven narrowed her eyes.

Alexa looked defiant. "Janey and Geoffrey weren't talking to each other when I slept with him, he was fair game. And Garfield wasn't your boyfriend back then either. Get over it Raven, I didn't do anything wrong. We're adults; and adults have sex. I suggest you let it go Raven. We aren't all traumatized puritans like you."

"You take that back!" Garfield growled.

Alexa gave them a contrite smile. "I'm sorry, Raven, that was uncalled for. But I do stand by my words: I didn't do anything wrong. If what I did with your husband four years ago, when you weren't even in a romantic relationship with him, bothers you … well, we also have a full time psychologist; she's an expert with couple's therapy."

Alexa thought she saw Raven's eyes turn red for a split second. While that didn't make her gasp, the voice that she suddenly heard in her mind did.

_If you even try to make a move on my husband, I will introduce you to forms of pain you couldn't begin to imagine._

"Are you OK, Dr. Pontone?" Raven innocently asked her in signature monotone.

Alexa glared at Raven. "I'll show you to your room. It's across the hall from mine. Just relax Raven, we'll become good friends. You'll see."

_We'll become good friends? When pigs fly._

_**Stay out of my mind, witch.  
**_

_Stay away from my husband, bitch. _

___**And how are you doing this? How are you getting past the implant? You shouldn't be able to read my mind!  
**_

_Have you ever heard of magic?_

Garfield took Raven's and held it. While he couldn't hear the private telepathic conversation, he knew it was happening. They followed Alexa to one of in intramural elevators, which did not connect to the surface. They rode down to the habitat level and Alexa led them to their door. Raven placed her palm on the reader and a green light flashed while the door slid open.

"The dining hall is on level 2, next to the gym. It opens at 6PM for dinner. Go ahead and rest. Tomorrow we start working. I was hoping to have dinner with you tonight, but I think a rain check would be a good idea. Let's meet for breakfast at 6:30AM instead …"

Mark waved goodbye to Garfield and he reciprocated. As soon as the door slid shut, Gar turned to his wife.

"What did you tell her?"

"What else? To stay away from you."

"Rave, I have to work with her …"

"And she can do that professionally … she wants me to see a shrink … I have to give her credit … she's good."

"Maybe we should see the psychologist, both of us … these are going to be difficult times for us, very stressful." He said softly.

"We don't need to see a marriage counselor … there's nothing wrong with our marriage."

"I know, I know. If we were back home in our apartment over Azarathia everything would be fine. But that's not the situation. We're stuck in this … hole. I'm going to be working around the clock and Coraline is coming and the whole world is threatened by this plague … I have an idea, why don't we call Dick and Starfire. That'll take our minds off of this mess."

Raven nodded reluctantly. "Starfire can be excessively positive, but maybe that's what I need right now."

Garfield approached a console. "Our communicators won't work down here, but we can make an old fashioned phone call."

He dialed the number and within seconds Cyborg's unusually melancholic face appeared on the screen.

"Hey B, Raven."

"Whoa! What's wrong Tin Man? You look like you just got back from a funeral."

"Nothing that bad."

"So what happened?" Raven asked.

"Star's gone."

"What do you mean by 'gone'?"

"She and Nightstar went back to Tamaran."

"What about Nightwing? Did he go with them?"

"No, he took a leave of absence and left for New York a few hours ago. He's gonna help the United Nations with the quarantine in Africa."

"So Starfire left without saying goodbye?"

"She did. Nightwing said there was no time. She was smuggled off Earth before the quarantine took effect."

"Smuggled? Who smuggled her?"

"I don't know, Raven. Nightwing said it was a secret. If I knew more I'd tell you ... sorry … so, how are you guys doing?"

"Don't even ask." Raven groaned.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Nightwing arrived at United Nations complex at around 3PM. Bureaucrats were coming and going in the main lobby, and a few cast a brief look at the spandex clad man but quickly ignored him and continued on their way. Grayson was about to approach the receptionist when he heard a voice behind him

"You sure took your sweet time to come." A gruff voice barked at him from behind.

Nightwing calmly turned around and found himself face to face with a silver haired man.

"Colonel Faraday."

"Nightwing, AKA Richard Grayson."

Dick's eyes popped open behind his mask. "How?"

"Don't sweat it kid, it's my job to know. And your secret is safe. Only Amanda Waller and I know. Anyway, you're late. Come with me, I want to introduce you to your partner."

"My partner?"

"Yes … walk with me and I'll explain."

After entering a private elevator Faraday continued. "We need someone to patrol a particular mountainous area. Conventional ground forces are too slow and villagers can easily circumvent them. However, a team of two stealthy vigilantes could easily patrol the mountains and intercept the escapee's. You will of course wear protective gear for the virus."

"So my partner is another superhero?"

Faraday sneered. "You people like to think of yourselves that way, don't you?"

"Then what are we?"

"Like I said, you're vigilantes. And right now that's what we need to plug that gaping hole."

Nightwing gave Faraday a mild glare as they exited the elevator.

"Oh, don't be so offended. You're useful, isn't that good enough for you?"

"A little recognition would be nice."

Faraday turned to face the masked Titan. "You keep that quarantine under control long enough for those eggheads to find a cure, and I'll replace the Statue of Liberty with your likeness."

They stopped in front of Faraday's office.

"Time to meet your partner."

Faraday opened the door. A woman was seated in a wingback chair, facing away from the door. As she stood up Dick noticed her red hair. She turned around and smiled though her cowl. Her black spandex suit had yellow accents and a bat logo adorned her shapely chest. Nightwing did a double take. The last time he saw her, she was wheelchair bound. Now she was standing before him, her muscle's rippling under her spandex.

He remembered well the day he received the news. It had been a bad day at the Tower, just a few weeks before they went their separate ways. It was a bank robbery, Johnny Rancid to be precise. As usual he had one of his robotic creations with him, a mechanical bull. When they arrived the giant robot was trashing everything in sight with its horns, while Rancid, who was clutching the stereotypical money bags in his hands, complete with dollar signs printed on them, laughed.

"I'm feeling kind of bullish today, Titans!"

Beast Boy frowned. "I hate this guy, let's take him down."

Before anyone could reply he morphed into a triceratops and charged at the mechanical Ferdinand. As the green dinosaur attacked something unexpected happened. The bull's horns retracted and were instantly replaced by two high caliber machine gun barrels, which made a buda-buda sound as they began to fire in tandem. The triceratops was tough, but not that tough, and the bullets found their mark on his heavy skull. Fortunately the hit the peripheral regions of his skull and missed his brain. Nevertheless the wounds were gruesome and the dinosaur stumbled and fell, morphing back into his human form. The changeling slid to a stop and a small pool of blood began to form around his head.

"Garfield!" Raven screamed at the top of her lungs as she flew to his side. Meanwhile Starfire and Cyborg, in a single minded rage, attacked the mechanical bull with eye beams, sonic cannons and starbolts, quickly destroying it, while Robin apprehended Rancid. Raven teleported Beast Boy back to the infirmary. By the time the others returned she had almost finished healing his gruesome head wounds. The effort was so extreme on her part that she collapsed and had to be admitted to the infirmary herself. In the end it turned out OK, but Robin was shaken by the incident and his fiancé suggested that they have an early night and rest.

Just as they were pulling back the covers there was an incoming call … from Gotham. It was the first time someone called from Gotham since he formed the team, and he was wondering what the occasion was.

There is an old adage that late night calls are always bad news and it was proven true that night. Alfred Pennyworth was calling, and with a grim face he delivered the bad news: The Joker had shot Barbara Gordon and that she was now paralyzed below the waist.

Eight years later Dick stared at his old friend. She had become "Oracle", the eyes and ears of the Batclan, who from her perch up in a penthouse high above Gotham she kept a finger on the pulse of the city. She sat seven years in that wheelchair until the day of the miraculous surgery. Her destroyed spine was repaired and after some rehab and four months later she was able to able to stand again on her own two feet.

Grayson felt a twinge of guilt. Even though Bludhaven was close to Gotham he didn't go to see her a single time, nor did he call her. And he knew why.

Robin never told his teammates, not even Starfire, the he and Barbara Gordon were briefly a couple … an intimate couple. It was the main reason he initially kept Starfire at an arm's length, even though he and Barbara officially broke when he left for Jump City. It wasn't until Tokyo that the Boy Wonder was finally able to get over his ex and move on with Starfire. He knew that Barbara was surrounded by people who supported her, and that she didn't need him there.

But now she was standing in front of him in her full Batclan glory. Her poise was perfect; her muscles looked sensuous and rock hard. Memories came flooding back, and he remembered everything … absolutely everything.

"Babs!"

"There will be time later for the two of you to catch up." Faraday interrupted. "Right now I need to brief you on your mission. Your transport leaves from JFK in an hour, so we need to make this snappy." He continued as he pointed at a map.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Blackfire moaned happily as she played with Frassa'd's raven colored hair. The young lieutenant was nothing special to look at, but he knew his way around a woman's body, he knew where and how to touch a woman to give her the utmost in pleasure and he was very well endowed. And as far as Blackfire was concerned, nothing else mattered in a man. Love, tenderness, fidelity, devotion, those were things that weaklings valued. Blackfire learned from an early age that you had to take forcefully to get what you wanted, that if you waited for someone to give it to you willingly, that you would never get it. This wisdom applied to power as well as pleasure, and for the time being Frassa'd pleased her but once he no longer did she would simply discard him like a worn out sock and replace him. He couldn't complain though … if he did, she would just kill him of course, but she knew that he enjoyed her charms as well. It was a truly symbiotic relationship. Neither of them cared for each other, but they benefitted in their exchange. Sure, he pretended to love her, but she knew better than to believe that.

She rose from their bed and walked, stark naked, onto the large balcony off of her room, staring into the nighttime sky. A few minutes later he joined her on the balcony. He covered her with a robe, draping it over her shoulders. "Milady, someone might see you."

She shrugged the robe off, and it fell to the ground. "Don't worry, everyone already has."

He picked up the robe and also gazed into the sky. "What are you looking at?"

She pointed at the sky. "Do you see that dull, yellow star in the sky? The one near the Alpha system?"

"I do, it looks very unremarkable."

"It's quite ordinary. It has a single inhabitable world."

"Do they have a name?"

"They have many, but they are commonly known as Sol and Terra."

"They are unremarkable names, milady."

"Indeed they are. Sol simply means 'sun' and Terra means 'earth' in a dead Terran language called Latin."

"This is the world where your sister lives, the one cursed with the plague."

"It is, and she is trapped there. Sometimes I cannot believe my own luck."

Frassa'd placed a hand on her exposed hip. Blackfire frowned, as she had not given him permission to touch her now, but being that she was in a good mood she decided to let that faux pas slip for the time being.

"Milady, when you are once again the Grand Ruler, will you remember me?"

She turned and gave a saucy smile. "Frassa'd, I could never forget you." She took his hand and began to lead him back into her bedchambers, as she was ready for an encore. As they walked, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, jerking her as he was still holding her hand. Blackfire was miffed and also turned around, ready to give him a tongue lashing. She didn't though, as she saw the same thing he did: an emerald star was descending from the sky. She ran to the balcony's edge to get a better view. The emerald star grew bigger and soon it could be seen that it was a sphere that glowed with a unique emerald color. It was a Green Lantern.

As they watched from their perch the sphere landed on the palace's main balcony, and dozens of warriors rushed out to intercept it, aiming their pikes and lances at it. Finally, Galfore emerged and approached the sphere, gesticulating wildly while even more warriors rushed out.

"Hmmm… this could be interesting … Frassa'd, bring me my clothes. I might need them."

He quickly returned and without taking an eye off of the scene she donned her outfit. As she finished dressing the green sphere evaporated and to her surprise the warriors lowered their lances.

"No, it can't be … Frassa'd, get me …"

He was a step ahead of her and handed his lady a pair of binoculars, which she eagerly took. After getting a better look she cursed.

"Milady?"

She threw the binoculars down; smashing them on the balcony's stone surface.

"That Green Lantern, he brought my sister and her half breed brat here from Earth."

"What about her mate?"

"The weakling? I don't see him anywhere; maybe she came to her senses and abandoned him to his fate."

Frassa'd looked disturbed. "What does this mean, milady."

She glared at him. "It means we come up with a new plan, you idiot!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Not one of my longer chapters, but I update fast. Still overwhelmed by all the reviews! Thanks!

MeowSaysKat – Even more so now that Tamaran I son the picture

ToraHimeSama – Raven is starting to lose her cool and so is Blackfire

krostovikraven1 - No worries, it's just Rage being Rage, she likes all men. Fortunately she isn't in charge.

Randamwriter – That would annoy Alexa, but Raven is too classy to do that.

gabylokita41 – Zombie Lisa Ashmore! Why didn't I think of that? You gotta have some "in between" chapters to set things up. And things in the lab are going to get strange.

TheDarkChangeling – Luthor always has a plan.

diamonds in a ruff2 – Poor Mark, he is caught in the middle

titanfan45 – You know what they say: You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family.

Guest – Ask Sinestro for help? Careful what you wish for … you might get it

SuperNolon – With Blackfire you never know.

Anoymous136 – I borrowed Kessa'd from my hero, the great Sir Alwick

greenhatred77 – We like it that way

The Cretin – Raven might see Nightwing as more than just a brother, but she won't get embroiled in an affair. That said … there might be some infidelity in the story.

HazMasterFlash – No need to apologize. That said, your review is appreciated.

WishToBeYouSomeday - And here it is, once again!

Chayse-man - Raven doesn't share your goodwill towards Alexa. Maybe she's wrong.

JOHNXgambit – Blackfire was a great villain in the show. I'm surprised they didn't use her more. She sort of vanished after the episode "Betrothed". Heck, I think Control Freak got more screen time than she did.

js12601 – It's going to be hard for Raven to separate her feelings for Mark from those she has for Alexa

Bluedog197 – I borrowed the term "Jiggle her jello" from the show "Futurama". Specifically from the Episode where Bender becomes a woman (Coilette) to cheat in the robot Olympics.

EP – The sparks are beginning to fly.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast - Yup, he crossed over from that defunct story. Still, being intimate with Blackfire, that's like making love with a snake.

Adventuresstime – When inspiration hits I can crank out a chapter in a single afternoon, but it usually takes longer.

DeeThom – I plan on rewriting Carved in Stone, which will be a tale of infidelity, shattered trust and forgiveness. That said, it will be quite different from the original. As for the first one, there wasn't much left to tell. Raven finally becomes faithful and at the very end Grayson finally meets his adult son.

Sweetums14 - It won't be quite as crazy as Carved in Stone, but yeah, there will be some drama along those lines with some heartbreak and tearful reconciliation.

elixxxrAngel – Tension is steadily building up all over the place. Maybe I need to bring Cyborg and Bumblebee into the fray.

TheThoughtsofKarasu - Overall I don't like the new show, it has far too many cliché's for my taste; and I find the characters to be very flat and predictable. But I did think it was funny that Raven was a closet Brony in the first episode.

Shadico – Nightwing was never fully on board with leaving. Grayson can be obsessive when it comes to superhero duty.

Ejammer – LOL! Everyone thinks Mark is a clone.

TJSC25 – Didn't you like bunnies when you were a kid?


	27. The Three Princesses

A sleek, black and unmarked United Nations' helicopter cruised over the famous skyline, cruising past the Chrysler building on its way to JFK airport. Few New Yorkers could be bothered to look up in the nighttime sky and even if they had they wouldn't have seen the stealthy chopper with it two stealthy passengers. Within minutes it reached its destination and landed next to an also stubby military cargo plane, of Russian design, whose sole identification was a UN logo on its tail.

Three passengers egressed from the chopper. They walked up to the cargo plane, which had its rear ramp lowered, and they stopped in front of it. One of the trio, a silver haired man, addressed the other two.

"Obviously we have no idea of how long you will be deployed. We will of course be in touch with you and periodically drop supplies. Everything you need for the first two months is on that plane: clothes, camouflaged of course. As well as food, medical supplies, communication gear, the works. It will all be dropped via parachute, which is how you will be deployed … I don't need to remind you of how important this mission is." Faraday droned.

"We understand, colonel." Batgirl replied.

Faraday looked grim, even by his own standards. "Good luck." He mumbled, before returning to the helicopter. Babs began to walk up the ramp into the airplane, but Grayson did not follow her. He was staring into the cloudless sky, in which only the brightest stars were visible as New York's electric lights and smog obscured a clear view of the sky. Babs noticed that he wasn't following her and she trudged back down the ramp. He didn't acknowledge her presence and continued to stargaze.

"Nightwing?"

He pointed into the celestial vault. "Do you see that star over there, the brighter one?"

She looked up. "Yes, I do."

"That's Vega. It's twenty five light years away. Vega is practically our next door neighbor, at least in a cosmic sense." He turned to face Babs. "Tamaran orbits Vega."

Batgirl continued to stare at the bright star. "That's where they are now, right?"

"Yeah." He replied in a listless tone. "So close and yet so far."

"They're safe there." She remarked. "Are you OK, Dick?"

"I don't know … will I ever see them again?"

Barbara punched him in the arm. "What the hell kind of thing is that to say? Of course you'll see them again."

She took his hand and squeezed it. "Come on, Nightwing … we have a world to save."

He nodded reluctantly and followed her up the ramp, which closed behind them and the transport's jet engines began to whine as they came to life.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven and Gar, each carrying a tray with their breakfasts found a small quiet table in the far corner of the dining hall. There had been no sign of Alexa so far and she suppressed a small sigh of relief from escaping her lips. Raven ate her meal in peace and just as she was finishing she heard a familiar voice echo in the room.

"Daddy, daddy!"

Raven winced slightly at the sound of Mark's voice. It wasn't until that moment that she connected the voice with one from the past: when she first met Beast Boy on the day that Starfire literally fell from the sky as she escaped from the Gordanians. Sure, the child's voice was slightly higher pitched, but there was no mistaking whose voice it resembled, and she found it unnerving. But that wasn't the worst of it. She could handle the little boy; well, to a degree … but if he was around that meant …

"Good Morning, Logans!"

Mark sat down at their table and smiled at Garfield, who returned his grin. The child was joined at the table by his mother, who didn't ask for permission to join the Chromatically Challenged Couple at their table. Raven raised her head and through narrowed eyes looked at the blond.

"Alexa." She acknowledged her presence in her monotone.

"Good morning, Raven. Hello Gar! Did you guys sleep well?"

"As well as could be expected, given the circumstances." Raven replied.

"We all have a busy day today." Alexa announced as handed Raven a sheet of paper. Raven quickly glanced at it. It was a schedule with her name on it. Raven looked up at the woman.

"A physician's appointment?"

Alexa began to feed her son, who continued to smile at Garfield between mouthfuls of food.

"Your medical records have been transferred here. Tina … I mean Dr. Felty, will be your doctor. She's top notch Raven, you and your baby are in good hands. Your due date is when? Eight weeks from now?"

"Five weeks." Raven replied in a voice as dry as burnt toast. "But I see you have other tasks for me."

"All minor, except for the library. Matt McCall has volunteered to help you setup the stacks."

"I don't require help."

"Rave, it's OK. I know you can use your powers to shelve the books, but …" Her husband interrupted.

"Actually, most of the books are electronic. But there are a few thousand that aren't available in electronic format … Matt just wants to get to know you better, and help you too, he's quite a gentleman." Alexa interjected before turning to the changeling. "We have a busy day ahead of us, Gar. As soon as we're done with breakfast, it's off to the lab. You'll meet the others and we'll get to work."

"What about the boy?" Raven asked as she looked at Mark.

"Oh, I forgot to mention this … the daycare doesn't open for a few days … Gar and I need you to watch him for us. That won't be a problem, right?"

"You want me … to watch him … for both of you?"

"I knew I could count on you." Alexa replied. "And don't worry, he's a great kid. He's Gar's boy after all."

"But …"

"Thanks Raven, we'll see you at lunch time … come on Gar, we're late. There's work to do."

Alexa took Garfield's wrist and quickly led him away. He mouthed the word 'sorry' as Alexa dragged him out of the dining hall. Raven sighed and closed her eyes. She then felt a weight on her lap. She reopened her eyes and saw that the green toddler had made himself at home on her lap. He looked up at her and gave her an extremely shy smile.

"Great, just great. What's next?"

"I love you, Aunt Raven."

She heaved a long sigh.

"Mark, I'm your father's wife, but I'm not your aunt."

"Mommy says you are my aunt."

"She's wrong … I'm not your aunt, though I could be your step mother … dear Azar … that's even worse."

"What's a step mother, Aunt Raven?" HE smiled.

Raven groaned. "It's … complicated."

"What's 'complicated'?"

"I'll tell you later … much later. Are you done eating your breakfast?"

He nodded enthusiastically. She thought the child looked … adorable.

_How can you possibly be that horrid woman's son?_

She reviewed his tray and verified that he was telling the truth.

"I guess we're stuck together for the day, so we might as well make the best of it."

She took his little green hand in her own.

"Let's go, I have to go meet the doctor. Then you can help me set up the library. OK?"

"I have to go potty."

She quickly led him to the men's room. "OK Mark, knock yourself out."

He shook his head. "Mommy always comes with me."

"I'm not your mommy."

The toddler began to do the "dance". Raven rolled her eyes and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"Ok, fine, I'll take you to the ladies' room."

Raven led him to a stall, lowered his trousers and plopped him on top of a toilet.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Get dressed, Frassa'd. It's time to go meet my sister and her half breed brat."

The Tamaranian male was a step ahead of her and was already putting his uniform on. As soon as he was ready they hurried down to the Great Hall and arrived just as the trumpets were announcing her sister's arrival.

"All Hail Princesses Koriand'r and Mar'i!" A booming voice announced. The entire assembly, except for Galfore, Blackfire and Frassa'd kneeled in homage. From a distance, Galfore noticed the commoner's faux pas and snarled at the lieutenant.

"On your knee, cur!"

Frassa'd abruptly complied just as Starfire and Nightstar made their entrance.

"The child … she looks human." The lieutenant muttered to Blackfire from his humble position. "It's an outrage. How can she possibly be a princess of Tamaran?"

"The law is, unfortunately, on her side. And to make matters worse, the brat is in line before me for the throne."

"But Milady, you are the older sister. You should be first in line."

Blackfire glanced at Frassa'd. He was as smart as he was good looking, which meant he wasn't terribly clever.

"How old are you, Frassa'd?"

"I am 18 years old, Milady."

"Of course … you are too young to remember."

He responded with a befuddled look. "Remember what?"

"Twelve years ago my sister challenged me to a duel for the crown … and she won. The fool then put her dim witted knorfka in charge as Grand Ruler. Still, she remains next in line for the crown once Galfore steps down and by law her half breed brat is her heir and is ahead of me as well."

"It is an outrage. You are the older sister; you should be sitting on the throne."

"I know, and to add insult to injury I am not allowed to challenge her back. It is sealed forever."

Frassa'd glared at the young princess. Other than for her dark hair and blue eyes, the child looked perfectly Tamaranian. As he continued to look, an alarmed expression appeared on his face.

"Milady?" He asked in an anxious tone.

"Yes?"

"Forgive me for my impertinence, but the child, she looks like …" he paused, as if afraid to continue.

"Yes, I know, it's painfully obvious … she looks like me. Go ahead, Frassa'd you may ask me why I have black hair and violet eyes when no other Tamaranian has them."

Still kneeling, he averted his gaze to the floor. "Please forgive me; it is not my place to ask."

Before Blackfire could reply, Galfore barked at her from across the hall.

"Kommand'r! You will come and greet your sister properly! And leave your flea ridden lapdog behind!"

"Wait here Frassa'd." Blackfire sauntered over to the dais where Galfore, Starfire and her daughter where standing, as the royal court paid homage to the two, until then, absentee princesses. She climbed the steps and smiled.

"Sister, long time no see." She greeted Starfire with a smirk on her face.

"I said you are to greet her properly."

As she continued to smirk, Blackfire dropped down onto her right knee. "Welcome home, Princess Koriand'r. I, Princess Komand'r am and always will be your loyal and humble servant."

Nightstar was wide eyed as he saw the woman who bore an uncanny resemblance not only to her mother, but even more so to her. Though their visit to Tamaran so far had been brief, it had not escaped Mar'i's attention that this was the only other raven haired person she had seen on her mother's homeworld.

"Who are you?" The child asked.

Blackfire's smirk shifted into a smile. "I welcome you, Princess Mar'i. As for whom I am, I am your aunt, Princess Kommand'r."

"Kommand'r? What does that mean?"

"Of course, you have been raised on Earth and English is your first language. My name means Blackfire, and you and I are going to be good friends." She replied as she rose to her feet. "Sister, why have you not taught her our language via lip contact? She does look of age to perform the transfer. Or does she lack the ability because she is half human?"

"Mommy can't do the lip contact anymore."

"Really? And why is that?"

Starfire's posture suddenly became defensive. "I had an accident. I am hoping that maybe the Royal Physicians might be able to help me."

"I see … how tragic … if you would like, I can perform the transfer." Blackfire replied in an overly sweet voice.

"That will not be necessary; I will find someone else to perform that favor for us … sister."

Blackfire did not acknowledge the snub and continued to smile. "As you wish, my sister."

Starfire subtly gestured at Frassa'd, who remained at a deferential distance from the dais. "I see that you have a new lover and that you like them very young. You are becoming what on Earth is known as a cougar."

Blackfire laughed.

"Guilty as charged, and what is wrong is being a cougar? If I am attractive enough for the young flesh, why should I not partake of it? … And speaking of mates, where is yours? I do not see him here."

"He has remained on Earth."

"Congratulations! You finally came to your senses and dumped the weakling."

The green glow in Starfire's eyes intensified. "He is not a weakling! And I did not dump him."

"Pftt! He's human … all humans are weaklings. So if you didn't dump him, why didn't he come?"

Starfire suddenly became crestfallen. Blackfire smirked when she saw the change in her mood.

"There is a crisis on Earth; he has stayed behind to help."

"You mean the Human Plague? Amazing how a simple little virus has the entire galactic neighborhood in a state of panic. Of course, our people are immune so we have nothing to worry about. So, is your little human daughter immune as well?"

"You know very well that she is half Tamaranian, but we do not know if she is immune to the virus. My husband took a blood sample from her and sent it to the Tower to be studied, but now that we have left it isn't important anymore. They now how their own problems to solve."

"Isn't it always that way with humans? They are the most self absorbed race I have ever encountered."

"That is not true, Blackfire. Humans can show kindness and love."

"Yeah, when they want something from you."

Starfire crossed her arms. "I believe that you are describing yourself."

"Oh Kory, please don't tell me that you are holding a grudge about those misunderstandings we had."

Starfire narrowed her eyes. "We are done talking. You may now leave."

Blackfire smirked again. "I see you haven't changed, sister, which is wonderful. I was counting on it."

Kommand'r bowed politely and took her leave. Frassa'd followed her with the utmost of deference as she left the Great Hall. Mar'i levitated to her mother's eye level.

"Mom, why didn't you ever tell me that you have a sister?"

"Because … she is evil. Stay away from her, my child. Beware of her, for she is a night v'kosh who strikes in the darkness with its poisonous fang swhen you can't see her."

Nightstar turned to look at the dark haired princess who was leaving. In a sea of red haired heads, Blackfire stood out with her dark hair.

"Mom, why does she have dark hair … like me? Everyone else has red hair."

"It is a dark and shameful story, my child. Someday I will share it with you when you are older. But remember this my child … you are nothing like her."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The mood in the Tower was as gloomy as the grey sky that hung over Steele City, but Cyborg seemed to ignore it as he watched TV with Karen at his side. It was the G. Gordon Godfrey show, on the Gotham News Network channel.

"… _just how many times have we've been told that aliens are our friends? That strangers from Mars, Tamaran and even the now defunct world known as Krypton would always defend us from mortal peril? Where is the Justice League now and what about those wannabe superheroes who call themselves the Titans?"_

The screen behind Godfrey changed and displayed a Green Lantern symbol.

"_What I would really like to know is why there are so many Green Lanterns orbiting our fair planet. Sure, the United Nations denies it and good luck trying to contact the Justice League or the Titans, all you'll get for your troubles is a busy signal."_

"You stupid windbag, what are you trying to do? Start a worldwide panic?" Cyborg shook his metal fist at the screen.

"All he cares about are ratings." Bumblebee added.

"_Amateur astronomers around the globe are reporting seeing them in orbit, dear viewers, and we're not talking about our four human Green Lanterns … oh no, not a chance. These are aliens, not humans, let me show you."_

A quick slide show of blurry and fuzzy pictures taken by sky gazers from around the world sequenced across the screen. Even though the pictures were far from perfect it was painfully obvious that the Lanterns in the shots were not human. Cyborg face palmed.

"Is there anything that rate whore won't do to get a bigger audience?"

After a couple of minutes the slide show ended. Cyborg was silently impressed; almost all of the Green Lanterns had been seen and caught on camera by rank amateurs.

"'_Oh G. Gordon', you're surely saying, 'what are you so worried about? The Green Lantern Corps are the good guys … right?' … Well, let's just say that I don't share your unbridled faith in the Emerald Space Knights. Who do they answer to? Who gives them their marching orders? I'll tell you who … it's not us."_

The bombastic journalist silently walked back and forth across the studio set with his arms behind his back, looking very solemn, as if he was delivering a homily. The camera carefully followed his every move.

"_The Green Lantern Corps takes its orders from a self appointed group that calls themselves the 'Guardians of the Universe.' I guess the job of being God was already taken, so they grabbed the number two job without asking for anyone's permission. Then again, that's what self appointed vigilantes, who answer to no one, do."_

Godfrey continued to pace around the set.

"_So, I'm sure that you are wondering why are there so many Green Lanterns circling our beautiful blue world? Well … I'm just a journalist, so how would I know? But fear not, dear viewers, for we have a special guest, a military expert who can tell us: Major Slade Wilson, US Army, retired."_

"WHAT!?" Cyborg bellowed.

"_Thank you, G. Gordon, though to be honest I never really retired from the Army."_ Slade, who was dressed in his signature costume, replied to his host in his infamous monotone. _"Though I was discharged."_

Godfrey laughed. _"So Slade, what is your assessment of the situation?"_

"_It's quite simple; any student of military history could tell you what is happening: We are being blockaded by the Green Lantern Corps."_

"_Fascinating, Slade. But why would they blockade little old Earth? We aren't a threat to anyone, are we?"_

"_Gordon, I do not say this in jest, or lightheartedly. We are being blockaded because an all out planetary invasion is imminent."_

Cyborg groaned. "Oh you gotta be kidding me. Is Slade really that clueless?"

"_And what do you recommend that the average citizen, a "Joe six pack" if you will, do to protect himself and his loved ones from this imminent invasion?"_

"He's asking Slade?" Bumblebee asked in utter disbelief.

"_First of all, do not rely on the government to protect you, because they won't. I know this from firsthand experience."_

"_That's right, Slade, after turning you into a super soldier the government declared you an ENEMY of the state, and why? Because you refused to obey their immoral and illegal commands."_

"_I couldn't have said it better myself, Gordon."_

"_But Slade, aren't the Lanterns supposed to be heroes, Knights in Emerald Armor?"_

"_Anyone who believes that, or that the Titans or the Justice League have the world's best interests at heart … is a fool. My advice to the citizens of this world is to stock up on supplies and arm yourselves. Prepare for the worst."_

Cyborg leapt to his feet and pointed at the screen. "Oh no you don't, you ain't getting away with saying that, you masked slime bag!"

Godfrey turned to the screen.

"_You heard it here first. Ignore this warning at your own peril. This is G. Gordon Godfrey. Good Night."_

The camera panned back as the studio lights dimmed. Godfrey's and Slade's silhouetted figures shook hands before a commercial began to play. Cyborg was livid to say the least.

"Oh great! This is effing great! Now everyone is going to go bonkers, there's gonna be riots and hoarding. And as soon as those alien blockade observer ships get seen everyone is gonna freak out even more! There's no way we'll be able to maintain order, it's gonna be freaking free for all!"

Cyborg collapsed back into the couch and groaned as he rubbed his temples, while Bumblebee frowned, looking just as unhappy as he felt.

"Hurry up, green bean … find that cure before it's too late."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Well Raven, everything looks great. I've never seen a pregnant woman and unborn child as healthy are you and Coraline are."

She then turned her attention to the green toddler. "So this is Alexa's kid." Tina smiled as she hunched down to greet Mark.

"You mean Gar's kid … his DNA is 70% Gar's."

"Well, you know what I meant. I wonder how she kept this little cutie a secret for so long."

"A lot of people are wondering where he's been all this time. Tina, I need a favor." Raven asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Is there any kind of a test you can do to check if he really is as old as he's supposed to be?"

Dr. Tina Felty became slack jawed. "Raven, you aren't suggesting that this child is some sort of rapid growth clone?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. So, is there a test that can be done?"

"I can check his chromosomes. His telomere count should reflect his true age."

"Would you mind checking that for me?"

"Sure, no problem, though it will take a few hours to do. And I have to say that it's awfully nice of you to babysit him, most women in your position wouldn't even look at him."

Raven ran her fingers through the child's green mop of hair. "I know, but there is so much of Gar in him … but I did get Shanghaied into babysitting job, at least until the daycare facility opens."

"He even has his cute little fang sticking out between his lips … I can see why you're wondering if he's a clone … I'll start the tests right away, all I need now is a sample."

Tina produced a sterile cotton swab and took a saliva sample from the boy.

"Give me a few hours, where can I find you later?"

"At the library … thank you, Tina."

Raven and Dr. Felty exchanged a few pleasantries before she departed. The infirmary was literally next door to the library in the "mall". Raven walked up to its sliding doors, which did not open as they were still locked. As palm reader was next to the door and after placing her hand on it a green light flashed and the door slid open.

"Aunt Raven, what's a liberry?"

"It's not a 'liberry', it's a library. It's a place where people can borrow books and other media."

"What's a media?"

"Never mind, now come with me, we have work to do."

Raven found hundreds of boxes full of brand new books and rows of shelves where to place them. She raised her right hand and boxes began to open, and the books, encased in her dark energy, began to shelve themselves. Mark observed wide eyed and with a smile on his face. In a few minutes the task was completed. He then extended his hand like Raven and focused. Of course, nothing happened. He looked at her unhappily.

"I'm sorry Mark, but you can't do magic." She informed him as she turned on the computer station for self checkout and returns.

"Are you a fairy?"

Raven laughed. "I've been called many things, but never that. Why do you think I'm a fairy?"

"Because you're so pretty."

Raven smiled. She was beginning to like the kid.

"How about we read a story?"

A smile appeared on his face. "Will you read me Winnie the Pooh?"

"As a matter of fact, we have that book."

Matt McCall, accompanied by a woman that Raven recognized as one of the chefs in the dining hall, entered the library.

"What? You're already done? How did you …"

"Aunt Raven is a fairy, she can do magic."

Matt rubbed the back of his head as he stared in disbelief. "Well, I guess that must be true … so is tere anything else we can do to help?"

"You can take the empty boxes away."

"Sure … I'll flatten the boxes and get a recycling cart … Raven, you've met Heather Hanke, right?"

"Yes, I met her this morning in the dining hall. You are accomplished chef, Miss Hanke."

"Thank you Dr. Roth, and I'll get you that recycling cart before I head back to the kitchen … lunch is going to be delectable."

"I am looking forward to it." Raven replied.

Matt then turned to Heather and pecked her on the lips. "Thanks hon, you're the best."

Raven arced an eyebrow but said nothing. She clearly remembered Alexa introducing Matt as Dr. McCall's husband.

_It's none of my business._

Raven opened the book and after Mark made himself comfortable on her lap she began to read the story of Christopher Robin and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood to the captivated boy, who hung on every word she said. Before they knew it, it was lunchtime.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Sorry for the delay and further apologies: I will be on a vacation next week, so it will be longer than usual for the next update. Also, some good news (for me at least). I just treated myself to a new car!

Thanks for all who continue to so generously review. This story is on track to be my most reviewed one yet. With your support I might even make it past the 1000 mark. When I see your thoughtful reviews in my inbox it always makes my day. Thank you!

mlbv-grimm – Wow, you sure caught up fast! And thanks for your kind words.

bigC94 – Thanks. I'm sure that the Atlanteans are very unhappy and they have some big guns too. The Green Lanterns had best be careful.

Randamwriter – Poor Dick, his loved ones are so far away and he's stuck with his old flame. Babs is a good person though.

gabylokita41 – There is a lot happening in the lab, Tamaran, Africa and Steele City. Somehow, it will all fit together.

Shadico – Well, Grayson is kind of a self absorbed jerk in the comics where he isn't shy about one night stands. As for the librarian job, what better thing for Raven to do than read while she waits for Coraline's birth?

SuperNolon – The tension is building up.

DeeThom – If I recall correctly, Babs and Starfire are the two ladies to whom Grayson has proposed marriage. Babs returned his ring, and his wedding with Star was interrupted when Raven killed the minister.

Guest – Blackfire is always up to something. I like TV Blackfire better than comic book Blackfire. In the comics she can't fly plus she's really creepy.

titanfan45 – Being stuck in a jungle with a hottie (and old flame) like Babs can't be all that problematic, right? I loved writing that telepathic conversation.

MeowSaysKat – Have you even met someone like Alexa? I have! And no, she wasn't my girlfriend!

The Cretin – Alexa definitely has a point, of course that doesn't mean that Raven has to like it.

Bluedog197 – I should sell tickets for the Raven vs. Alexa smackdown!

JOHNXgambit – As you can see, Blackie is already sweet talking Nightstar, who for obvious reasons is starting to identify with her aunt.

Sweetums14 – But what if Starfire never found out?

Ejammer – Luthor is always bad news, but he knows that he needs to save the world.

Wolf of IndigoRiver – Alexa doesn't give up that easily.

ToraHimeSama – Mar'i is definitely intrigued by her aunt, in spite of Mom's warnings.

Ferlion – That is a possibility.

Katt In The Boxx – Blackfire was woefully underutilized in the show. I think lesser villains like Control Freak got more screen time than she did. I loved the babysitter short, where she's attacked by her own "horrible offspring" and she screams in terror as the bite her.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – I thought the lab was more "Andromeda Strain" than "Gattaca" but I see your point.

WishToBeYouSomeday – Thanks!

Chayse-man - It's up to the readers. For every reader who reviews there are about 30 readers who don't review.

TJSC25 – Dick definitely still has feelings for Babs. The question is what will he do with them?

js12601 – You aren't alone in your distrust of the blond bombshell.


	28. Cosmic Pizza

"So this is home, sweet home?" Babs asked as she stared into the maw of the dark, damp cave on the mountainside.

Nightwing was lugging a huge backpack, and was carrying the rolled up remains of the parachutes. Stealth was vital to their mission and it was of utmost importance that not a single sign of their presence be left on the mountain.

"Yeah, according to the map this will be our base of operations."

As they entered the cave they found that there were already some supplies waiting for them. Next to entrance there was a small metal box with a lever on it, which he flipped. The cave's entrance vanished as holographic boulders appeared, fully concealing the cave from outside. They dropped their backpacks on the floor and sat on a pair of folding chairs. Grayson reached into his backpack and pulled out a couple of protein bars, handing one to Batgirl.

After consuming her ration, Babs removed a radio from her backpack and sent an encoded message announcing that they were in position and would begin patrolling the mountain for escaping refugees. They were already changed into camouflaged versions of their costumes. Dick loaded his utility belt with a dozen bolo ropes, which he would use to capture anyone trying to flee the quarantined area.

Babs had a box full of tiny sensors, each the size of a peanut. Their first official act would be to place them in strategic places on the mountain, with the hope that they would detect any "runners" before they could get away. Dick learned during the flight that any runners who appeared to be "clean" would be sent to special refugee camps in the quarantine zone. That on paper sounded good and humane, but Grayson knew that if a single infected runner was interned that it would spell certain doom for the entire camp.

He shook the thought away. It was true; this wasn't an easy or even a noble task. It went against everything he held dear, but he knew it had to be done.

Three hours later the sensor bugs had been placed throughout the mountainside. Nightwing sat down on a fallen tree trunk and stared at the cloudless sky. Dusk had fallen about an hour before and he could once again see Vega shining brightly in the sky while he ate another protein bar. Babs sat down next to him.

"I know this assignment sucks, but I'm glad you're here with me, Dick."

He nodded half heartedly. "Yeah, me too … it's been a long time."

He took another bite of his bar, masticating on its chewiness. "Hey Babs."

She looked up from her own power bar. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For everything … I ran off to Jump City like a kid throwing a tantrum."

She pursed her lips before answering. "It was the right thing for you to do. You met your wife in Jump City after all … but I won't lie, even though we had just broken up, I was hoping back then that we could have patched things up. Kinda hard to do when you are on the other side of the continent, busy with your own team. Dick …"

"Yes?"

"Before the Joker shot me, I was thinking of joining the Titans. I was going to ask you if I could come to Jump."

Grayson's eyes widened. He recalled well the day Alfred called with the news that Babs had been shot. It was shortly after Blackfire "visited" the Titans and tried to frame Starfire with the theft of the Centauri Moon Gems.

"I'm sorry Babs."

"Don't apologize for missed opportunities. We both made decisions that kept us apart. I sat on my hands for a year after you moved to Jump. I could have come to visit."

"You would have done that?"

"Absolutely, but I was too proud."

"Babs, I missed you too."

"Yeah, I'll bet you missed the rolls in the hay."

Nightwing smiled bashfully. "Well, back then, I did miss that."

"I'm surprised you waited so long to make your move on Starfire, horny Boy Wonder." She smirked.

"I was gun shy, plus Starfire projects this really … how do I put it … 'wholesome image'? Once we started dating she invited me into her bed. Turns out Tamaranians have even bigger libidos than humans."

"You lucky dog." Babs grinned.

Nightwing chuckled. "So here I am, talking with my old flame about my sex life as a married man. If that isn't weird and awkward, I don't know what is."

"We know each other pretty well." She chuckled herself.

"Babs … Star's been a good sport about us and our past … I just want to … you know? Keep things between us legit."

"Dick … you're married … of course I'm not gonna poach you. What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"I'm not worried about you Babs … I'm worried about me."

Before Batgirl could reply their UN issued communicators began to chirp. Grayson flipped his open and frowned. "It looks like we have some runners, and they're nearby."

Barbara and Dick donned their environmental masks, which would hopefully protect them from contagion should the runners be infected. They took off running, on an intercept course with the runners. The mountainside was very steep in some places but the two Batclan members were both incredibly fit and agile. They soon reached the intercept location and hid in the foliage, ready to ambush and capture the runners with their bolo ropes. Once captured a helicopter would come to collect and relocate them to a refugee camp. It was all too simple.

They didn't have to wait long, within minutes a young couple emerged into a clearing. They looked ragged and tired, sweat dripping down their skinny, malnourished faces. The female gestured frenetically at the foliage, telling whoever was there to stay put until they could tell it was safe. The man and the woman nervously began to look around, searching for any sign of danger, while whispering to each other in their native tongue. Still hidden, Nightwing watched without moving a muscle. When the couple reached the center of the clearing he nodded his head. He and Babs leaped out of their hiding spot and threw their bolo ropes, which instantly wrapped themselves around the two runners, who lost their balance and fell down. That was when he heard two screams in the foliage.

Nightwing's heart sank when he saw two small children run to their fallen parents. They were terrified, bawling as tears streamed down their faces. Grayson turned to his companion, who looked even more mortified than he did.

"I hate this job." He mumbled under his breath.

_**-( scene break )-**_

A small clock chimed in the library, indicating that it was now noon and lunch was being served in the cafeteria. Mark had fallen asleep while Raven read him stories and she had delicately deposited him on a couch. Much like her husband, the child could sleep … a lot. She was reading a book of her own, a book about childbirth. She slipped a bookmark into the page and closed the book.

"Mark, wake up."

The toddler blinked a few times before looking up at Raven and smiling at her. She returned his greeting with one of her trademark, super subtle smiles.

"It's time for lunch."

"I don't want lunch, I want a story."

"It's lunchtime now and we are going to have lunch, we can read more after lunch. Your mother will be there; don't you want to see her?"

"I don't like mommy." The boy frowned.

Raven was barely able to conceal her surprise.

"Why?"

The child shrugged but didn't answer. Raven decided to let it slide. She took his hand and led him out of the library, which was a few doors down from the dining hall. As they approached the entrance he released her hand and bolted. Raven saw her husband approach and the boy leaped into his arms. Raven noticed that Gar was accompanied by Alexa and another woman. The woman was attractive and seemed excessively familiar with Garfield, as she repeatedly touched him.

"Hey there, slugger! Did you have a good time with Raven?" He asked the boy.

"She read me stories!"

"She did, huh, that was nice of her."

"And she can do magic." The child expressed in an awestruck tone. "Because she's a fairy."

The changeling smiled upon hearing the words. "You got that right champ." He replied before greeting his wife with a kiss.

"I thought I was a witch." She whispered to him.

"You know I've never said that."

"You said I was creepy."

"That was a long time ago." He whispered back. He then handed Mark to Alexa.

"Rave, I'd like you to meet Dr. Barbara McCall. She and I are on the same project team."

Raven suppressed raising an eyebrow and politely shook the woman's hand.

"So you're Garfield's Raven?"

"And he's my Garfield." She replied in her gravelly monotone.

Dr. McCall grinned. "I remember when you were both Teen Titans. I was a huge fan."

"You were?"

"Oh yeah, I was a real fan girl. I had all your posters on my bedroom walls. I always thought you and Starfire were the coolest, you both had such awesome powers and you kicked bad guy butt. Starfire was so pretty and you were so cool and mysterious, I would have given up anything to be like you."

"Who was your favorite male Titan?" Alexa asked with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"It's kind of funny … all of my classmates were crazy about Robin. They joined his fan clubs and wrote him letters. But not me." She enthused as she wrapped her arm around his. "But my crush was Beast Boy. When Terra showed up I was devastated. I was so happy when she disappeared. Garfield told about what happened to her."

"I see … you had a crush on my husband."

"Had? I still do! I know, it sound so fan girl. When I found out you were coming, I almost freaked out. That does come across a bit pathetic, doesn't it?"

"Not at all." Raven responded in an excessively polite voice. "My husband is very popular."

McCall smiled as she caressed the changeling's back. "You are one lucky lady Raven; you have a super hero hunk all to yourself."

"Yes, that is the basic concept of marriage." She replied. "Fidelity and exclusivity."

The changeling subtly extricated himself from McCall. "And I have Raven all to myself too."

"You guys are so old fashioned … it's adorable." Alexa interjected.

"Yes, we are." Raven replied. "It's who we are."

"My friends and I always wondered what you Titans did in that cool Tower. You were on your own, no supervision. I can only imagine what happened after hours." McCall interjected.

"I can reassure you that while we were minors nothing happened. And when we came of age the team broke up."

"You mean … you guys … didn't get it on?" McCall asked.

"Heh heh, could we change the subject?" Garfield interrupted.

"I concur, I'm about to lose my appetite." Raven agreed.

McCall blushed. "Oops! Sorry!"

Alexa gestured at the dining hall entrance. "Shall we?"

As the group headed into the hall, the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ fell behind. Raven grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"Gar … I saw her husband kiss another woman today." She whispered.

"Kiss? Like, not on the cheek?"

"Like not on the cheek. He kissed one of the chefs, and he called her 'hon'."

"I've been getting weird vibes from Barbara myself."

"Oh, so you're already on a first name basis with her?"

"She is a colleague … but she seems to be awfully friendly. I thought that maybe it was just her old fan girl coming out."

Raven narrowed her eyes and glanced at Alexa and McCall, who were sharing a laugh. "Right, she's just a fan girl. And I'm just a girl with an unusual complexion."

"Raven, let's be cool about this. I do have to work with her, after all. You know that nothing will happen."

She grabbed him by his lab coat lapels and drew him near. "You know that I trust you. And that I'd hate to have to punish you for any misdeeds."

"Aw, c'mon, you don't think for a second that I would do that?"

Her expression softened and she released his lapels. "Of course not … I'm sorry."

"And besides, it's probably nothing anyway. Now let's get something to eat."

As they caught up with the others, Alexa smirked. "Is everything OK? I thought we lost you there for a moment."

"Everything is fine." Raven lied in her monotone.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Princess, are you ready?"

Starfire leaned against the railing on the massive balcony. This was the very place where Robin tried to talk her out of honoring her arranged wedding so many years before. On this night he felt so far away as she stared at the small yellow star in the dark firmament overhead.

"Milady?" A chambermaid cautiously opened the massive door to her room. "The reception is about to begin and it is in your honor."

Starfire bristled at the remark. Officially this was a reception to commemorate her return to Tamaran. But she knew better. Galfore never accepted Dick Grayson as her consort. Yes, she had the right to pick her mate if one wasn't chosen for her, and Galfore made, by his own estimation, a huge mistake in not selecting a mate for her. And now that she was married he couldn't get rid of Grayson. There were, however, ways to circumvent that irritation.

Tamaranian Royals were allows to have multiple mates. It was an ancient tradition and no one had exercised it in thousands of years. The Grand Ruler knew that Starfire had become too "humanized" during her years on Earth and would never consider taking a second mate. Unfortunately as Starfire's "first" Grayson was legally her consort and would have privileges over the other husbands. But, the pesky human was trapped on Earth and it was very likely that the Princess would never see him again, especially if everyone on Earth died of that wretched plague.

Starfire knew very well that Galfore would have an army of suitors lined up for her. She knew that they would be charming, handsome men from Tamaran's noblest and wealthiest houses. Unfortunately, for them, she was not interested. The only man she wanted was a commoner, a circus brat of the humblest origins.

"Milady?"

"Yes, I am coming. Where is my daughter?"

"She is with the Grand Ruler, Milady."

Starfire sighed. "Very well, I am ready."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Galfore drummed his massive fingers on the armrest.

"Where is she? … She is making me look bad." He grumbled.

Nightstar hovered next to him, and had been doing so for quite some time. He turned to the child.

"You may go and mingle with the crowd." He instructed her. "Remember though, you are a princess of the Royal House, so behave as such."

The child bowed her head. "Yes, Grand Ruler." She replied in a melancholic voice.

Galfore grimaced, then his expression softened as he caressed her cheek with his huge thumb. "Forgive me, child. Go do as you please, but you must stay in the Great Hall. When the meal is served you will join us as the main table.

"Yes, sir." The child replied as she suppressed a shudder. Her mother has more than once tried to introduce her to Tamaranian cuisine. Unfortunately she found it disgusting. Nevertheless, she was pretty sure that that they wouldn't be serving cheeseburgers, pizza or tacos at the reception, so she steeled herself as she prepared for the worst.

She quickly flitted away. Some people engaged her in small talk, asking her what Earth was like and if it was true that humans could not fly and were otherwise utter weaklings. Eventually she grew tired of the polite chat and withdrew to the periphery of the room, hoping to become a wallflower that evening.

Back on Earth, Mar'i was painfully aware that she was an alien. None of the other children she met had any kind of powers and she stood out like a sore thumb with her orange skin and glowing eyes. Yet she felt just as out of place on Tamaran with her dark hair and blue eyes. She could tell by the way that people looked at her. Sure, they didn't say anything because she was a princess, but she overheard the words "half breed" spoken in hushed tones. It made her blood boil. What was wrong with being half human, anyway? She liked her black hair and blue eyes. And she was as strong as any Tamaranian.

There were a few other children at the reception, and they kept a respectful distance from her. Suddenly, the thought of spending the rest of her life on this weird, alien world and never seeing her father again sent a surge of panic through her young mind. She tried to stop her tears from flowing … and failed.

"It's not easy being different, is it?" A familiar voice broke the silence around her. Nightstar wiped her tears away and looked up to the source of the voice.

"Aunt Blackfire?"

Princess Kommand'r smiled sweetly at the young girl.

"I have a present for you." Blackfire placed a necklace with a blue pendant around her neck. The young girl took the gem and held it in her hand.

"Whoa!"

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

Mar'i smiled. "It is … this isn't stolen, is it?"

Blackfire laughed. "Your mother told you about the Centauri moon gem, I see."

The child nodded.

"Well, don't worry, it isn't stolen. It's from my own private collection. You can show it to Galfore, he'll recognize it."

The young princess smiled. "Thank you, Aunt Blackfire."

"I got something else for you, come with me. If Galfore sees this, he'll have a coronary … in both of his hearts."

Blackfire led her to a secluded side room, where a lonely table stood, with a domed food cover on it. Blackfire grabbed the handle on top of the dome.

"You want to know a secret? I also hate Tamaranian food."

Blackfire lifted the dome and poor Nightstar began to salivate.

"You have pepperoni pizza?"

"Well, it isn't fresh. I brought a ton of frozen pizzas from Earth before the quarantine took effect."

The young princess inhaled the heavenly aroma.

"Go ahead kid, I already ate. This one is all yours."

Without even a hint of decorum Mar'i began to devour the pizza. As she stopped to take a breather Blackfire handed her a can of ice cold Pepsi, which she eagerly chugged down.

"Thank you." The young princess thanked her aunt after she finished the pie.

"It's no biggie. I also brought other stuff back from Earth. Would you like a cheeseburger next time?"

The young girl nodded enthusiastically.

"We have a lot in common, Mar'i."

"We do?"

"Do you know why I have dark hair and violet eyes?"

"You mean you're half human too?"

Blackfire shook her head. "Hardly … I'm 100% Tamaranian."

"Then … why do you look different? You look like me."

"I'm a mutant. What you and I have in common is that, even though we are princesses, we are outcasts on our own world, just because we're different. You know what I mean, don't you, Mar'i?"

The girl sadly nodded her head. "Yes, I do."

"Well, I'm your aunt, and I'm here for you. And while I can't stop people from being jerks, at least we can eat real food together. But I think you should go back into the great hall before Galfore notices that you ditched the reception."

Nightstar nodded her agreement.

"Oh, and don't tell anyone about our arrangement, especially not your mother. She doesn't like me and if she finds out … well … if that happens, I hope you like eating mouth worms."

Nightstar shuddered at the very suggestion. "I won't tell."

"That's my girl, now run along."

Nightstar flitted back into the Great Hall. Blackfire sniffed at the remnants of the pizza and had to suppress her gag reflex. "How did my sister ever learn to eat this swill? Earth food is disgusting."

_**-( scene break )-**_

A shorter chapter, but I got it done before leaving on my trip.

Reviews are as generous as ever. Thanks!

EP – No need to apologize, plus your review broke the per chapter record for this story.

TheDarkChangeling – Eww! Imagine having a kid with Rouge! I'd probably never have sex again.

TW – What could go wrong? That's a rhetorical question, right?

ToraHimeSama – And now McCall has been thrown into the mix.

Adalyn333 – I like to get geography right, even though in the show they were never clear where Jump City was. In fact, in the original show their hometown is never named. It's only in the Teen Titans Go! Comics and in the new show that the city is identified as Jump City.

gabylokita41 - Nope, she isn't.

Sweetums14 – Everyone thinks Mark is a clone.

ravenandbb4ever – Sorry about that!

Shadico – You'll have to wait until next chapter to find out.

Dvasapolli - Nothing fancy, just a Chevrolet.

TJSC25 – Raven's boiling point is approaching

demon girl – Others are rooting for this too.

Pb03 – Blackfire is being very sneaky.

SuperNolon – Marky does deserve better

MeowSaysKat – Did you see the Teen Titans Go episode where baby BB is looking for his mother?

DeeThom – I think that Grayson's bad luck is of his own making.

Wolf of IndigoRiver – He is clearly winning her over.

titanfan45 – As Dick just said "I hate this job"

JOHNXgambit – Blackfire clearly has plans for Nightstar

Me - I've been way overdue for a new car

Bluedog197 - I really enjoy describing Raven and Marky getting closer.

Lover of A Good Story - It sure seems like that, doesn't it?

Anoymous136 – Discrimination is a terrible thing.

Glacier – Have you ever met someone who was really nice but whose parents were just horrible people? Some characters from the show made it back to the comics (lie Mas y Menos). But not Control Freak. I always thought he was lame.

Chayse-man – Thanks. Things are building up.

Ferlion – Thanks!

mlbv-grimm - How could he not be? I guess BB's genes cancelled out those of his mother.

Maddielove95 – Thanks for your kind words.

The Cretin - Slade is always an opportunist, isn't he?

Randamwriter – Kind of like real life. We might not have superpowers, but we can weave a tangled wen

krostovikraven1 – Oh yes she did!

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – I could see a 60 year Blackfire still hitting on the young guys!

TheThoughtsofKarasu – There is no shortage of villains in this story. As for the Brotherhood … who knows what they are up to?

js12601 – Who would have imagined Raven reading Winnie the Pooh to a child?

WishToBeYouSomeday – Thanks, still haven't departed yet.

Dragonkyng – So if BB divorced Raven and married Alexa, that wouldn't be cool, right? ;-)

Adventuresstime – I think that she is slowly growing fond of him.


	29. Gotham Memories

Their first night on patrol on the mountain proved to be very productive. They apprehended seven different groups trying to escape the quarantine. There were all sorts of groups attempting to flee: small families, bands of friends, single individuals, gangs of criminals, etc.. If anyone was able to get past their dragnet, they must have been very good indeed.

As the sun began to rise the runners ceased as they no longer had the cover of night to shroud them, they would be easily picked up by regular UN patrols as they came down the opposite side of the mountain during daylight. Nightwing and Batgirl returned to their cave to rest. Babs volunteered to cover the first watch while Dick got some sleep. It had been a grueling first night and after lowering his weary body onto a lumpy cot in their hideout he was soon asleep.

Barbara recalled the first time she ever saw Dick Grayson sleep … ten years earlier.

_It was a typical evening in Gotham: sirens echoed throughout the urban canyon that they called home. The Gordon residence was an apartment in one of the many older buildings just west of the downtown district. The building itself had once been a tenement during distant decades of mass immigration from Europe just prior to World War Two. That time had long since passed and the building had since been remodeled and it now had more upscale residents_

_Jim Gordon was divorced. His wife, Barbara, ditched him when Babs was about nine years old, after she caught him red handed in an affair with the very shapely detective Sarah Essen. There had been a half hearted attempt at reconciliation, but even their marriage counselor knew that the situation was hopeless. Within three months the divorce papers were finalized and Gordon's ex simply vanished without a trace, leaving him to care for their daughter by himself._

_The divorce deeply affected Babs, and her father did as most dads did after a messy divorce: he overcompensated. Babs had shown some potential in gymnastics as a child so Jim Gordon spared no expense in paying for the best gyms and instructors for her, especially the quirky Romanian who had trained Olympic medalists in the past._

_It was during this time that Gordon was appointed commissioner. The man was dedicated to his job, even more than before. For all practical purposes he was married to his job, which of course meant that he was rarely at home. This situation came in handy for Babs, as she could come and go as she pleased, and that now included wearing the cowl and a black costume with a yellow Batclan logo on it._

_Babs and Robin had been out on patrol that evening. Her father was out of town for a conference and had asked detective Renee Montoya to check in on his daughter. Babs had timed their patrol so that she would be back at home when Montoya came by to check on her. Swinging by their grappling hooks they quietly landed on the fire escape outside her room._

"_Wait here, I'll let you know when she's gone."_

_Robin grinned and remained on the fire escape while Babs entered her room through the window and changed into her pajamas. He watched her disrobe, though he only saw her silhouetted form through the drapes. When she was done she turned to face the window and after drawing it aside she playfully stuck her tongue out at him._

"_You're a tease, Babs."_

"_And you're a peeping Tom."_

"_Hey, I couldn't see anything." He grinned._

_It was then that the doorbell rang._

_He continued smiling as she headed for the door. It was the same game they always played. He didn't mind the games; it was worth waiting for the make out session that always followed Montoya's departure. He grinned lustfully in anticipation. Patience had its rewards. He listened carefully for Montoya to check in with Babs, and strike up some casual chit chat before she left, which rarely took longer than five minutes. After she left they would spend the next hour sucking face, and once the "all is well with the universe" feeling passed they would suit up and resume their night time patrol. That is until he heard an unexpected voice in the apartment._

"_So … kid … you gotta punk hidden in here somewhere? Yer dad told me be on the lookout for any stray boyfriends."_

_Robin frowned. He'd recognized that voice anywhere._

"_Knock it off Harvey; you know Barbara isn't that kind of girl." Montoya retorted._

_Robin's grin intensified. Harvey Bullock was a much better detective than most people gave him credit. But he wasn't good enough to know that Babs' "punk" was none other than the boy wonder._

"_Yeah, yeah, she's a little angel. I know we can't stop her from foolin' around, but it won't happen on my watch." Bullock grunted as she pushed his way into the apartment and began looking around, peeking into closets and looking under beds. Robin had already anticipated Bullock's move and had already swung away from the fire escape. A few minutes later Bullock completed his search._

"_The place is clean." He announced in a gruff and disappointed voice. Babs was holding a text book in her hand._

"_Of course it is. She's doing her homework Harv, now let's get out of here. We have some real police work to do."_

_Montoya led the way out, waving goodbye to Babs and was followed by Bullock, who with his index and middle fingers made the "I'm watching you" gesture by pointing at his eyes, then at her. He closed the door behind him and Babs quickly locked the deadbolt and sighed. In her rush to look "busy" she accidentally picked up one of Dick's Italian language textbooks. And she didn't know a word of Italian. Fortunately neither Harvey nor Renee noticed. She put the book down before heading back to her bedroom._

"_What was Harvey Bullock doing here?" Robin asked as he bounded in through the window._

"_Who cares? He's gone." Babs replied as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a fiery kiss._

"_I'm guessing your dad sent him … you know, to keep you scared and on your best behavior."_

"_There's a lot my dad doesn't know about me."_

"_Like the fact that you sneak boys into the house when he's gone?" Grayson smirked._

"_You're the only boy I sneak in here."_

"_Lucky me." He replied between kisses._

_She released him from her hug. "You have no idea of how lucky you are."_

"_I might be the boy blunder, but I'm not that clueless."_

"_Sure … so, have you ever seen a naked girl before? And I mean a live one, not a girl in a video or on the internet."_

_His mouth suddenly went dry. "Uh … no … not really."_

_She grinned. "Like I said, you have no idea of how lucky you are."_

_Babs pulled her pajama top off and cast it aside, exposing her magnificent bosom. Grayson ripped his mask off and stared with a stunned look on his face, which only intensified as she dropped her pajama bottoms._

"_Now you can say that you've seen an honest to goodness naked girl."_

_He continued to stare; the only word that formed on his lips was "wow". Barbara, who seemed amused with the situation, replied. "Aren't you feeling a bit overdressed, Grayson?"_

_Robin hastily pulled his traffic light costume off, but said nothing._

"_That's better … in case you haven't figured it out yet … you're getting laid tonight."_

"_I am … why?" He squeaked in shock. _

_Babs smirked at him._

"_Do you want to screw or not?"_

"_Of … of course I do … Babs … is it … I mean … I don't have any protection."_

"_I'm a gymnast; I've been on the pill for years … it helps regulate my menses for competitions. It also means I don't have to worry about getting pregnant."_

Barbara smiled as she recalled their first time. He didn't know it, but he was the only lover she ever had. Having been paralyzed all those years, unable to feel any sensation in that part of her body, it made it easy to be celibate, actually it pretty much made it mandatory. Now, it was a year later after her miraculous surgery, and things were different now … very different.

She also vividly remembered the last time she had sex with him. It was the night he dropped the bomb on her, that he was leaving Bruce and Gotham behind and was going to strike out on his own on the west coast, in a second tier city simply know as Jump. He then surprised her a second time when he asked her to come with him.

For reasons she still didn't understand, she declined his offer. Six months later, the Joker knocked on the door of the Gordon's apartment and shot her point blank in the abdomen and any second thoughts of following Dick to Jump City and becoming a Teen Titan evaporated. Fortunately, Bruce didn't give up on her and she became "Oracle".

She followed Grayson's achievements from afar as he formed his team of misfits and turned them into one of the finest crime fighting teams on the planet. She also knew that Starfire had a crush on him before he did … which wasn't surprising as he always was clueless … was he ever. Babs snickered … back in the day she had been dropping hints that she was ready to have sex with him for weeks and she finally had to tell him point blank.

Starfire … Babs knew early on that Dick would end up with her, her only surprise was how early they married and had a daughter. Losing him to circumstance was bad enough, but it always hurt her to see him with the Tamaranian. When she later found out that Starfire was royalty … why couldn't he have fallen for the gray witch instead?

Babs sighed as she down next to his sleeping form. She ran her fingers through his hear and whispered to herself. "You were mine before you were hers."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Two weeks later …_

Kissing her husband after breakfast in the dining hall, Raven collected Mark and together they headed off to the tiny library, where they would spend the morning together until the lunch break rolled around. After lunch she would turn Mark over to Grace Park in the daycare center, which now took care of 4 toddlers for their parents.

The past two weeks had been a difficult time for the Logans; Garfield's work had been grueling. He was working fourteen hours a day, seven days a week. By the time he returned to their room every night he was utterly tense and exhausted. It didn't take Raven long to figure out that the other labbies were resorting to alcohol and casual sex to cope with their stress, and that included many of the married couples.

Curiously, no one had approached them to suggest that Garfield might need some sexual release for his own stress. It was more than obvious that given her currently advanced pregnant state that the Logans were not engaging in coital relations, but other than Barbara McCall's occasional pointless flirting with Gar, there had not been any serious attempts by any of the ladies to score with her husband. In the past Raven hated being considered the "creepy" Titan, but now she realized that perhaps her old scary reputation was actually a blessing in keeping the hussies at bay.

Nevertheless, she felt bad for her husband. Under normal circumstances a few months of celibacy wouldn't be an issue, it was a given that most married men would endure such a sexual drought while their wives recovered from the "miracle" of childbirth. But these weren't normal circumstances. Garfield never complained, not for a moment. As soon as he returned to their little suite, after a long grueling day in the lab, he always put on his best face and warmly greeted his wife, asking her how she felt. They would spend about an hour together, discussing the progress in his research, which invariably was null. And if the lack of progress wasn't bad enough, there was the never ending dealing with Alexa and McCall. Garfield learned that Alexa and Matt McCall would spend "quality" time together, and that Barbara didn't seem to have any problem with that. Even stranger, while McCall never made a pass at him, she often initiated what he felt were unprofessional topics of discussion, such as her favorite sexual techniques.

The Logans agreed to do their best to cope with the strange situation, and by cope they decided to simply ignore the unnerving behavior of his coworkers. Either they would find a cure for the plague and when that happened everyone would about on their merry ways, or if a cure was not found … it was best to not consider that option.

Raven arrived at the library, which was always open, and sat down at her desk. There was a small cardboard box waiting for her on her desktop, a special order someone had probably made on the computer. All such orders were automatically filled by Amazon and shipped directly to the library. Raven would check the book into the collection and send an email to the requestor, informing them that the book had arrived. It wasn't a challenging job, but she could order all the books she desired and there was always a steady flow of books arriving for her to read. She noticed that the box had her name on it, which struck her as odd since she hadn't ordered anything lately. She was about to open the box when little Mark gently rubbed her belly.

"Why is your tummy so big … are you fat?"

Raven smirked upon hearing his innocent remark. Only a toddler could get away with saying that to her.

"No Mark, I am not fat. What I am is called being pregnant."

He gave her a classic 'deer in the headlights' look.

"Do you know what a baby is?"

He nodded his understanding.

"Good … you see Mark, there is a baby growing inside of me."

His eyes grew wide upon hearing the revelation.

"Did you eat the baby?"

Raven did something she rarely did: she laughed.

"No, I did not eat the baby."

"Why is it in your tummy?"

"Because that is where babies live and grow until they are old and big enough to live outside of their mommies' bodies."

"How did it get inside your tummy?"

Raven suppressed a slight blush. "It's complicated … a mommy and a daddy share parts of their bodies, and when they come together, they make a brand new baby."

Mark's hand was still on Raven's midsection when Coraline suddenly kicked. The boy flinched in surprise.

"Did you feel the baby move?"

Awestruck, he nodded his head. "When will she come out?"

"Coraline is almost ready, she will come out soon."

"When she comes out … will she play with me?"

Raven smiled. "Not at first, she'll be too small to play with anyone. But she will grow and when she is older I am sure she will play with you."

"Are you sure, Aunt Raven?"

Raven had given up on getting Mark to not address her that way.

"Of course I am sure. She is your sister, after all."

"My sister?"

"Do you know what a sister is?"

He shook his head.

"You and Coraline have the same daddy. You are her brother and she is your sister."

He smiled. "Baby Coraline is my sister. And she'll play with me."

"That's right." Raven said as she opened the package from Amazon. Inside was a single hardcover book, with the title: "In Defense of Polyamory: Why Monogamy is not only unnatural, it's unhealthy."

Raven frowned at the title. She certainly had not ordered this book. Alexa had to be behind this. Raven took a second glance at the dust jacket and noticed the author's name: _Dr. Barbara McCall_.

"That explains a lot." She mumbled to herself, as she took Mark's hand and led him to the day care center, where he would spend the rest of the day, as she now had a date with a book. A very unexpected book.

As she headed back to the library her thoughts were interrupted by the shrill sound of a klaxon. She immediately recognized it, it meant that somewhere in the lab there had been an accidental breach and someone had been exposed to the virus.

This had never happened before.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The raven haired child bit into the cheeseburger and sighed contentedly while her aunt scrunched her nose at the disgusting Earth concoction. That anyone would prefer the stench of a burger over delicacies such as Glorg or Glurk scales was beyond Blackfire's comprehension.

"Was your cheeseburger prepared correctly, my dear niece?"

Nightstar nodded eagerly. Blackfire looked upon the child and all she could see were her human features. Her orange skin, glowing eyes and round eyebrows were all but invisible to Kommand'r. Blackfire waited patiently, with one of her signature fake smiles on her face. Within a moment Mar'i finished scarfing her third burger.

"Would you like another one?" She asked sweetly.

"No … thank you Aunt Blackfire … I think all of my stomachs are full."

The elder princess ran her fingers through the child's hair.

"Well, we wouldn't want to give you a stomach ache, now, would we?"

Blackfire walked away and stopped. Without turning around she addressed Mar'i.

"Where is your father?"

"He stayed behind on Earth."

"You mean he didn't come with you?"

The child dropped her head. "No, he didn't."

"Well, that is unfortunate … you do know that you will probably never see him again."

Nightstar became wide eyed. "That's not what mommy said."

Blackfire began to tsk tsk. "She only said that to protect you my dear … you see, the Green Lantern Corps is going to destroy the Earth and everything on it … it's such an unnecessary tragedy when you think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, my dear child is that your mother and Galfore are afraid of the Green Lanterns. They won't do anything to help the Earthlings."

"They won't? Why?"

"Oh … it's complicated … there are ancient treaties, rules, etc. Of course, when I was the Grand Ruler those things wouldn't have stopped me from saving the Earth … unfortunately I can never be Grand Ruler again." She said wistfully.

"You can't?"

Blackfire shook her head and smiled. "Your mother challenged me for the crown, remember? And I lost."

"I'll ask mommy to save daddy."

Blackfire heaved a burdened sigh. "My poor child … she doesn't want to save him. Have you not noticed all the noblemen who are courting your mother? She's already planning on replacing your father, I'm sorry to say."

"No! That's not true!"

"Then why isn't he here with you?"

The child was on the verge of tears. "I don't know." She stammered.

Blackfire placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "My dear Mar'i, only you can save your father."

_**-( scene break )-**_

OK, a short chapter, but I just got back from my vacation.

Thanks for all of your reviews. Since it's been a longer wait than usual for an update I'm going to skip the mailbag today. I promise to bring it back next chapter. Thanks!


	30. Saved by the Bell

As the Klaxon continued to shriek people emerged from the storefronts on the promenade, all with worried looks on their faces. Raven wasn't the exception as she understood well that her husband could be one of the victims. The thought filled her with pure, unadulterated dread. Gar had explained to her that exposure to the virus meant certain death within a few days.

She instinctively reached out to him and was able to feel his presence. He was in a state of panic. Raven gulped and felt a lump form in the pit of her stomach. This couldn't be happening to them, not to her. She would be a widow before her daughter was born.

Raven felt her legs weaken and she grabbed onto a nearby railing to keep her balance. Tears formed in her eyes which she closed.

_This can't be happening._

As panic flooded her psyche one of the elevators chimed and its doors slid open. She opened her eyes and saw what looked like a torpedo roll out of the lift. To her immense joy and surprise, Garfield, with a grim look on his face, was helping to push the long tube towards the infirmary. The tube had a window on one end and Raven immediately recognized the tube's occupant: Dr. Tina Felty, who looked frozen.

Raven heaved a sigh of relief, first for her husband, who was joyfully unharmed and secondly for the true victim, who was in suspended animation. She followed the medical entourage to the infirmary, and it suddenly dawned on her that they no longer had a doctor in the facility.

The infirmary was a whirlwind of activity. The nurse practitioner was busy tapping away on a keyboard while a lab tech was fiddling with the cryonic tube where Tina rested in her icy sleep. When the tech was done they slipped the tube into a niche in the wall and a screen above it came to life. It identified the tube's occupant as Tina Felty and displayed a series of data fields Raven couldn't interpret but assumed that because they were displayed in green that they were good.

Gar wiped his brow with the backside if his hand. He then noticed that Raven was in the infirmary and gave her a weak smile. No longer able to hold back, her tears began to flow and she ran to him. They embraced each other and held on tightly. The rest of the entourage who brought the tube quietly withdrew, as many also had loved ones to inform that they were alright.

Gar kissed his wife several times before releasing her.

"Hang on, there's something I have to do."

He picked up a handset from a nearby phone and dialed the number to turn off the klaxons. He then dialed a second number for the site wide PA system.

"This is Dr. Garfield Logan. There was an accidental contamination breach in lab four on level seven. Dr. Tina Felty was exposed to the virus. The breach has been contained and Dr. Felty is in suspended animation, where she will remain until a cure is found. Until a new physician is assigned to the lab I will be the official doctor on duty though it will be Nurse Washam who will attend to your daily needs. You may all return to your daily activities as there is no present danger."

Gar hung up the handset and sighed.

"Gar … what happened?"

"Tina was giving us a hand today and she made a mistake with the lab equipment. She volunteered to help during her free time … we shouldn't have let her, she wasn't properly trained." He rubbed his temples. "Shit … what a screw up, this should never have happened."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Raven asked.

"No … it's OK, plus you need to rest, we don't want you to go into labor before the new doc arrives. Speaking of which, I need to call Luthor and tell him what happened."

Gar sat down at Tina's desk, which was immaculately tidy. There was a single envelope in her in box, and the return address indicated that it was from a lab from outside the facility. Garfield opened the enveloped and carefully studied its contents.

"Why did Tina have Mark tested to find out if he's a clone?" He asked.

Raven pursed her lips. "Because I asked her."

He shook his head in dismay. "Why?"

"Because … because I was hoping that he wasn't her son."

Gar tossed the letter onto the desk. "He isn't a clone."

"I see."

"Raven, you've been getting so close to him, does it really matter that he's Alexa's son?"

She crossed her arms and stared at the floor. "I suppose it shouldn't. He's a nice boy and you're right, I do like him. If he was a clone … I guess I'd be able to think of him as my son."

"Because he wouldn't be her son?"

"Correct … I'm sorry, I know I'm coming across as petty, but I can't think of a single reason to like Alexa."

Raven was still holding the book and debated whether or not to tell Gar about it. She could sense that he was feeling overwhelmed with everything that had just happened and wisely decide to tell him later.

"Changing the subject, you're worried about Tina, aren't you?"

He nodded. "I don't trust these damn cryonics tubes. They're Luthcorp tech and this is the first I've heard of them … Tina is the first human they've been used on, it's been just animals before."

"But it does work, right?"

"According to Lexcorp data they now have a 100% reanimation rate. Still, I worry … the human brain is far more complex, what if she suffers some form of brain damage?"

"At least she'll stay alive until the cure is found … Gar, I know Tina is your friend."

"I had a big crush on her at school … I never told her, she knew I had feelings for you, I didn't want to mess things up … I've always valued her friendship and I didn't want to lose it … I'm scared, Raven … I do care about her, a lot … what if we can't save her?"

Raven took his hand in her own. "Tina is fortunate to have a good friend like you. And I have no doubt that you will find the cure."

He sighed. "That's the thing, Raven, we haven't made any progress at all."

"Don't give up Gar; I know there's answer out there."

"Yeah … but where?"

_**-( scene beak )-**_

Starfire's royal bedchamber was a typical Tamaranian bedroom, meaning that the furniture, including the bed, was unrecognizable to her daughter when they first arrived. Nightstar, who was now more familiar with the strange fixtures, climbed into what looked like a giant Venus flytrap, which wrapped itself around her.

"Pleasant slorvaks, my daughter." Starfire rubbed her own pregnant midsection as she kissed her daughter goodnight.

"I miss Dad. The baby is going to miss dad too."

"Everything will be alright, my daughter."

"I don't like being here … Tamaran is weird."

"If you are saying that Tamaran is different from Earth, you are correct."

"Mom … I want to go home … I want to see Dad. Don't you miss him too?"

"I miss him every moment I am awakeay. But we must stay on Tamaran."

"I don't want to stay here. I hate it here! Everyone looks at me like I'm a monster. I heard people say that I'm a half breed and they say that they can't believe that you married dad."

Starfire nodded. "Yes, I know that the Royal Court and even Galfore did not approve of my choice of spouse, but it was my choice. And you are not a monster or a half breed. Do you think that your Aunt Raven is a monster or a half breed?"

The child's blue eyes widened. "Aunt Raven? No way … she's awesome … I love her."

"And you are awesome too. My dear child, your father has important work to do at home and even though you are not happy here you must understand that Tamaran is just as much your home as is Earth and you need to become familiar with our other home."

"Mom, do I really have to? I just want to go home."

"My child, you are home. Don't you understand? Someday you will be the Grand Ruler of Tamaran."

"You hate dad, don't you? That's why you won't go back to him!"

Starfire glared at her firstborn. "That is a lie!"

Her glare turned into a frown. "You have been talking to your Aunt! Why are you doing that? I warned you about her. Why are you seeing her?"

The girl hesitated before answering "She has food." She stammered.

"Food? So this is why you have been hardly eating at all, you have been dining with her! Why are you disobeying me?"

"Because she has real food."

"What do you mean by 'real food'?"

"She has Earth food. She has pizza, hamburgers, tacos, spaghetti and meatballs … she even has Chinese food."

Starfire looked livid. "You are forbidden from seeing her; if you disobey me again I will punish you."

She turned to leave.

"Mom, where are you going?"

"To speak with your aunt."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"You know, just when I think I can't possibly hate Slade more, I do."

Cyborg, wearing his "human" prosthetics, sat down in front of the mission console. Its screen was peppered with red dots. Bumblebee was leaning over his shoulder

"Steele City is in a state of near anarchy." She remarked.

"Thanks to G. Gordon Godfrey and Slade. What the hell is he thinking? They've gone and scared the crap out of everyone with their bogus imminent invasion crap."

"Slade knows about the plague and he's probably thinking that a cure will be found and when it is he'll take advantage of the situation, maybe take control of a few cities. By that point all civil order will have broken down. He'll step in as a savior ... you remember what happened in Gotham after the big earthquake, don't you, Sparky?"

"No Man's Land. The federal government quarantined Gotham."

"Until Lex Luthor stepped in … and made a fortune rebuilding Gotham. Slade might even re-emerge as a legitimate businessman."

"SladeCorp? Don't even joke about that, girl."

Cyborg studied all that hot spots on the screen. "This is hopeless, I don't even know where to begin, and the cops are overwhelmed too."

She took his hand. "I have an idea."

She led him back to their bedroom, where she began to disrobe.

"What? You want to get laid? How's that gonna help?"

She stripped naked and locked eyes with him. "Out there, it won't help, but right now there's nothing we can do to help out there. But in here … it'll make me feel good and at least for a little while I can forget about what's happening out there."

Cyborg pursed his lips as he processed her words. Then with no warning he began to undress.

"You what I hate about you? You're always right."

"Shut up, Sparky, and get into the damn bed."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven returned to the library and sat down at the desk. She put the book down in front of her and stared at it.

"So, monogamy is supposed to be unhealthy … maybe if you're a nymphomaniac." She droned in a low voice.

Raven's first instinct was to toss the book into the incinerator. But she had too much respect for the written word to do that and that burning books that went against her worldview would put her in undesirable company.

She reluctantly picked up the book and opened it. If there was anything to be gained, it was that she would understand what exactly went through the minds of people like Alexa and the McCalls.

Raven was a quick read and an hour later, having finished reading the book she closed it and put it down.

The fundamental premise of the book was that sexual fidelity was an artificial construct which only led to unhappiness. It argued that while couples could and did fall in love that their relationship would be richer if they had love interests outside of their primary relationship. It stated that by exploring love and sex outside of their partnership, that a couple would bring back new experiences to their relationship and would actually make it stronger.

In later chapters the book make a case for plural or 'group' marriages, where a group of men and women would enter into a relationship with each other.

As Raven put the book down, she muttered to herself "What a load of crap. I'm half demon and I find this tripe to be repugnant."

As if on cue Alexa entered the library.

"Hi, Raven."

Raven narrowed her eyes as she returned the greeting. "Alexa."

"Are you OK? I'll bet you were worried about Gar during the alarm, I know I was."

Raven frowned at the woman. "You want to have sex with my husband, don't you?"

"I see you read the book."

"Yes, I have. And I'll save us some time, you can't have him."

"This isn't about me, Raven. This is about you and Gar."

"I'm sure it is."

"I'm serious Raven, I really am."

"Oh please, do you really think I believe the garbage McCall wrote in her book? That if I let Gar sleep with you and McCall that our relationship will somehow magically improve?"

"It isn't magic, Raven. It's science. Matt and Barbara have a rock solid relationship and it's because they have other lovers."

"Forget it Alexa, you can't have him."

"I'm not talking about Gar."

"Then what are you talking about?"

Alexa smirked. "I'm talking about you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You aren't going to be pregnant forever Raven. And if you recall chapter 12 …"

"Yes, I remember. The best time to explore new lovers is after child birth … more garbage."

Alexa shook her head dismissively. "How disappointing … you know Raven, being that you are half demon we hoped that you would understand this and be open, even enthusiastic about polyamory."

"Being half demon doesn't make me a slut."

Alexa laughed out loud. "Raven, there is no such thing as a slut. It's perfectly natural to desire other men and to act on those desires."

"I don't buy that infidelity makes for a stronger marriage."

"There is no such thing as infidelity."

"Yeah, you'd like to believe that."

"I believe it because it's true."

"You believe it because you want to have sex with my husband and you're trying to take advantage of him because of our situation."

Alexa pulled up a chair. "Raven, can't you see what's obvious? You can't have sex with your husband now and you won't be able to for a while. Barbara and I want to take care of him. You know that he's under a lot of stress and he needs an outlet. When you're ready for him you'll find that he'll be a much better lover and if you explore with other men, you'll become a much better lover too. Matt has already expressed interest in you, and so have a few other guys."

Raven leaped to her feet. "Get out of here; get out before I do something terrible to you!" The demoness' two eyes began to glow red.

"Raven, it's unnatural to be monogamous, you know that I'm right."

Raven's body began to grow and she towered over Alexa. "You cannot have him, you pig! He's mine and he loves me."

"I also love him, Raven. I always have. Share him with me and I promise you that he'll blow you away."

Raven's eyes split into two demonic pairs. "He already blows me away, you whore!" She responded in an otherworldly, guttural voice. "He's mine and only mine."

To her credit, Alexa kept her cool. "That isn't true, Raven. He's also mine. He was mine first, and we have a son together. He's just as much mine as he is yours."

Raven continued to grow. "I should banish you forever to another dimension."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Don't try me, Alexa. You don't know me."

"Actually, I think I do. I've seen you with my son. You've practically accepted him as your own. Deep down you know I'm right. Plural marriages make sense."

"He's my husband, and not yours. And I only accept your son because he is Gar's, not because he's yours."

Alexa chuckled. "Raven, you might as well get used to me, because I'm not going away. We are both his wives and as the senior wife I'm going to claim my right to have sex with him, and there's nothing you can do about that."

Raven shrieked as dark tendrils emerged from under her cape and wrapped themselves around Alexa's body. For the first time during their chat, the blond suddenly looked alarmed.

"Whoa, let's not do anything rash now; you don't want to make a mistake you'll later regret."

Raven's tendrils flipped Alexa and she was now hanging upside down, flailing her arms,

"The only mistake I made was not dispatching you to another dimension the day I met you, one from which you'd never return. And I intend to correct that mistake, but before I send you away I am going to teach you the meaning of pain, you lecherous bitch. I am so going to enjoy …"

Raven stopped speaking and released Alexa, dropping her on the floor, where she landed with a dull thud. The blond quickly sat up and by the time she looked at Raven the demoness had already reverted to her normal form.

"I see you finally came to your senses."

Alexa noticed that Raven was bent over and clutching her midsection.

"Are you OK?"

"My water broke … I'm having a contraction."

Alexa became wide eyed. "Whoa, we'd better get you to the infirmary."

"That … would be a good idea."

"Here, let me help you." Alexa hooked her arm into Raven's.

As they made their way to the infirmary she spoke to the sorceress. "Now we're gonna be more than just co-wives, we're also gonna co-mothers. Raven, I just want you to know that I consider Coraline my daughter too."

"For the love of Azar, would you please shut up? And if you don't, I promise to resume what I was going to do to you before I was interrupted."

Alexa remained silent until they reached the infirmary. Garfield was still there.

"Whoa! What happened? Are you OK?" Gar shouted as they entered the infirmary

"Coraline … she's coming, Gar, she's coming."

He turned to the nurse practitioner and whispered to her. "Have you ever delivered a baby?"

"I've assisted several times, but I haven't done it myself. How about you?"

"I delivered a baby gorilla once."

"I guess that will have to do." Washam replied. "Are you ready, doctor?"

"I suppose … how hard can it be?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

It was now Nightwing's turn to watch the sensor grid whiles Babs slept. He was seated in front of a portable console, which so far had yet to report an incursion on the mountain.

Boredom began to set in, as did concern. They had not received a supply drop off in over a week and while they had made radio contact with the UN, the people on the other end were being very evasive when it came to supply schedules. Every time Nightwing asked if everything was OK he was told to not worry and to focus on the mission. Unfortunately they only had a week's worth of food rations left, and the crew of the helicopters which collected the captured refugees were also bare handed when it came to supplies. It also did not go unnoticed by him that the choppers were often hours late to collect the refugees. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was and the helicopter crews were very tight lipped.

Grayson had taken to foraging for whatever food he could find on the mountains lower slopes. There were a few mango groves, but the fruit wouldn't be ripe enough to eat for a few weeks. He had seen some antelope on the upper slopes and made a mental note to trap one by the end of the week if no new supplies arrived.

He leaned back in his chair and glanced at Babs, who was sleeping in her skin tight spandex. She was now even shapelier than when she was a teen, and this did not go unnoticed by Grayson as memories came flooding back.

He didn't tell Starfire much about Babs, except that they had been reckless teen lovers before he headed out to Jump City. What he never told Starfire was just how much in love he was at the time with the red headed bat girl and how devastated he was when the Joker maimed her with a well placed bullet. Unbeknown to his teammates, he came within a cat's whisker of quitting the team and heading back to Gotham to be at the side of his first love. It was Bruce who convinced him to not come back, that there was nothing Robin could do for Babs and that he was responsible for his own team now. Bruce's final reassurance was that he would take care of Barbara Gordon and find her something meaningful to do.

Dick didn't see Babs again until three years later, after the Titans had been dissolved. Bludhaven was fairly close to Gotham and it wasn't long until Bruce summoned Nightwing to Wayne Manor. Grayson showed up with his wife and young daughter.

It was both a happy and awkward reunion. Alfred prepared a feast to celebrate the return of the Batclan's prodigal son and the extended family at the time was present: Bruce of course, Tim Drake, along with the current Batgirl, the functionally mute but deadly Cassandra Cain. And of course, sitting in a hi-tech wheel chair was Barbara Gordon, who was then known as Oracle.

The reunion was joyful as everyone got to meet Starfire for the first time and of course they all gushed over little Mar'i, who was only an infant. Bruce assumed the role of the proud grandfather and warmly welcomed Starfire to the family.

Barbara was cordial but kept a respectful distance throughout the dinner, only making small talk. After the meal was over she wandered away to a balcony and stared stoically at the night time sky above, until she noticed that she was no longer alone. She spun her wheelchair around and found herself facing the towering and alien looking Tamaranian.

"Greetings." The Titan spoke.

"Hi … congratulations."

"For what?"

"For marrying Dick and having such a lovely daughter."

"Yes, I thank you."

"Um, Starfire … may I call you that? I understand that you are a princess."

"Yes, you may call me Starfire. And do not concern yourself with my background; I am only royalty on my world … which is right over there." She pointed in the sky.

"It orbits Vega, right?"

"That is correct."

"Starfire … I wish you and Dick all the best."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Babs replied as she put on her bravest face.

"Miss Gordon … Richard has told me about your past relationship with him."

"And that is in the past, Starfire. How much did he tell you?"

"He told me that you were lovers."

Babs shook her head. "No, not lovers. We were just a couple of horny teens who had sex when we shouldn't have. That's all we were."

"It is OK; you do not have to do the pretending for my sake. It is obvious that you still have very strong feelings for Richard. That you have been avoiding me makes it very obvious."

"That was a long time ago. Things change, people move on. It's the way life is."

"Richard still cares a great deal about you. You are no longer his lover, but you are still a dear friend of his. You do not need to do the avoiding of me."

"Starfire … it's probably best this way, if I just avoid you guys. You don't need an old flame hanging around … and in my current state, it's best for me too. I won't sugar coat it, knowing that you bagged him, let's just say that it's painful. But I have to be realistic too … I'm a cripple, I can't even experience sex anymore. My life now involves sitting in this wheel chair and staring at computer screens."

"I understand … I will trouble you no more."

"Thank you … Starfire?"

"Yes, Miss Gordon?"

"Please, just call me Barbara … Starfire, make him happy, for both of us."

The princess nodded. "I will."

Neither woman knew that Nightwing had witnessed their little heart to heart and as Nightwing watched Babs sleep in the cot the scene replayed in his mind. He rose from his seat at the console and approached the still sleeping Babs. He leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. She continued to breathe slowly as she slumbered.

"I'll always love you." Nightwing whispered before returning to his seat in front of the console.

They both had their backs to each other, and Grayson did not see her open her eyes.

"_So will I."_ She replied in mind.

_**-( scene break )-**_

A lot happened in this chapter, wouldn't you agree?

This is now my most reviewed story ever. Let's see if we can make to the 1000 review mark. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Your kind works are always touching

Katt In The Boxx – Raven popped. Doesn't that always seem to happen at the worst possible time?

KroovyRed - Thanks! But to be fair, there are some other really good writers in the Teen Titans section. Sir Alwick comes to mind. You should check out his stuff.

pb03 – Thanks!

Kidstandout – There is always someone who figures out what I'm up to!

The Cretin - It's not a joke, there really is a polyamory movement out there that is demanding plural marriage. I wonder, in such an arrangement, how do you figure out who sleeps with who on any given night? It can't be simple.

bigC94 – BB is ultra faithful, Alexa is wasting her time … or at least that what we hope.

JasonVUK – It is a complicated web

TW – That would be bad.

SilentGoddest – It was short (4 days) but we had a grand time.

TheDarkChangeling – Well, the results are back – he's not a clone.

TJSC25 – Alexa is a perv.

elixxxrAngel - Blackfire is about to face a very angry mom.

Dragonkyng – Yep, they're back – he's not a clone.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – It's worse than that. Grayson still has feelings for Babs. Strong feelings. Maybe they need to buy Dr. McCall's book!

DeeThom – Well, in the comics Dick breaks up with Star, and to add insult to injury they move onto a "friends with benefits" relationship. He even tells Star that he doesn't love her anymore, that he just likes to bang her. Meanwhile, he has a relationship with Babs, which in the "New 52" doesn't seem to be going anywhere (meanwhile, Star has a friend with benefits deal with Jason Todd and Speedy. I know, what a mess!

Bluedog197 - Oh yes, Grayson still has feelings for Babs. And yes, that is why it's always good to read, you will learn new words.

Anoymous136 – Poor Nightstar, she just misses her dad … and fast food!

SuperNolon – Blackfire is always up to something.

WishToBeYouSomeday – We went to Ouray, Colorado. The Mrs. and I had a very romantic time.

BartWLewis – I think that Alexa and Blackie are neck to neck in the evil department

mlbv-grimm - I love TV Blackfire, she is so deliciously evil. She's pretty bad in the comics too, but she isn't cute like her TV counterpart.

titanfan45 – Star is getting ready to open a can of whoop-ass on her sister.

Lover of A Good Story – I have given up trying to understand why people do strange things. It's much more fun to use their bizarre behavior in stories. Fact is stranger than fiction.

Sweetums14 – Why does Blackie do what she does? Because she's evil!

js12601 – It wasn't BB. I did make you guys worry, didn't I?

Wolf of IndigoRiver – Babs and Grayson are in a very bad place right now.

krostovikraven1 - It sounds like Blackfire will have to deal with her sister first.

Shadico – I was tempted to infect Alexa, but she has a bigger role to play than being an evil Popsicle.


	31. The Princess and the Blue Pill

"Frassa'd?"

"Yes, milady?"

Blackfire sat up in her bed, exposing her naked torso to the nighttime air in her royal chambers. Small goose bumps formed on her arms and on her breasts as her bare skin was exposed to the Tamaranian chill that permeated the huge room through the open balcony.

"You are boring me."

Frassa'd also sat up in the bed, cautiously looking down at his now flaccid manhood.

"But milady … we have already mated three times tonight … I … I am spent."

Blackfire's eyes glowed with mischief.

"So, you are saying that I should replace you … with someone who has more … stamina?"

The young lieutenant's eyes widened with alarm.

"Milady …"

"Do you not find me to be stimulating, Frassa'd?"

"Milady … you ask for so much …"

"I ask for so much? My dear Frassa'd … I am a Princess of Tamaran. It is my birthright to demand so much."

"But my Princess … you ask for the impossible."

"You should be honored that I ask you for the impossible."

"Milady … it is not a lack of desire."

Blackfire reached over to what might have passed for a nightstand on the alien planet and retrieved a small translucent plastic bottle with a white cap on it. Frassa'd did not recognize it nor could he read the alien writing on it, which displayed the words "Walgreen's Pharmacy" in the English language. She shook the small plastic vial, which made a rattling sound.

"Frassa'd, tell me about the humans from Earth."

He shrugged. "What is there to say? They are flightless and weak."

"That is true, but did you know that they are unequaled as lovers across the galaxy?"

"I was unaware … but how is that possible? They are weak and puny."

"They are, except where it matters. Did you know that humans are obsessed with sex? Well, they are, even more than Tamaranians, and that says a lot. They have made an art form out of augmenting their sexual abilities … artificially when needed." She shook the vial again. "Do you know what I have here in this vial?"

"Is it an aphrodisiac?"

"No … not quite, it's the product of Earth pharmaceutical science." She opened the vial and shook it. A blue, diamond shaped pill landed in her palm. "Have you ever heard of Viagra, my dear Frassa'd?"

He stared at the pill in her hand. "No, milady, I have not."

"Take them … now." She slapped the vial into his hand.

"Take them? But these pills are for humans."

"They work on Tamaranians … I know from experience."

"How many should I take?" He stammered.

"As many as needed." She replied.

Still sitting on the bed, he looked cautiously at the alien pills. "Milady, please do not ask me to take these. I will go see the palace herbalist tomorrow, I promise."

"I'm not asking you, I'm ordering you. And don't waste your time with the herbalist, these pills work much, much better than anything she can give you. Like I said, I know this from experience."

Frassa'd gulped, dreading the prospect of consuming the strange pills. "Will they be harmful, milady?"

Before Blackfire could reply the huge wooden door to her room was kicked open. Frassa'd gasped when he saw Princess Starfire barge into the room. Her eyes were glowing a bright green and the expression on her face made his knees shake. She walked straight to him, and grasping his neck with her right hand she lifted him from the bed and shook him like a rag doll. He dropped the vial, which fell to the floor and spilled its contents.

"You … get out." She growled before throwing his naked form at the destroyed door. Oblivious to his nudity he got up from the floor, bolted and ran away. Starfire bent over and picked up the empty vial, reading the label on it.

"Viagra? I see that it is not only food that you have brought from Earth, am I right, sister?"

"Can you blame me, sis?" Blackfire replied as she rose from her bed and scooped up the spilled pills. "You have to give the humans credit, they make wonderful sex aids. Does your husband take Viagra? Or does he take something else … what is the name of those other pills, the ones they advertise with couples sitting in matching bathtubs?"

"My husband does not need such pills" Starfire's voice dripped with venom. "And my daughter does not need your Earth food!"

Blackfire, who remained oblivious to her own complete state of nudity, walked around the room.

"Oh, I was just being nice to her. You know that she hates our food. I guess it comes from having a half human palate."

"You are never nice."

"Now that is not true. I am nice … I'm also devious and conniving, but I can be nice at the same time."

"You will stay away from my daughter."

"But sis, I'm just trying to bond with our future Grand Ruler."

"What are you saying?" Starfire screeched. "And would you please put on a robe?"

Blackfire grinned as she complied with her sister's request. After tying the robe's velvet belt around her narrow waist she resumed speaking.

"I can never be the Grand Ruler again, because you deposed me."

"After you betrayed Tamaran to those disgusting sklurches."

"Yes, that was a calculated risk, and I almost pulled it off. And you … you voluntarily abdicated, so you're out of the running as well. That means that my dear niece is next in line for the throne and we both know that Galfore isn't getting any younger. And of course there is that little humanoid growing inside of you, that one is second in line for the throne."

"You have an ulterior motive and I will not allow you to act upon it … I banished you once, I order you to leave Tamaran again."

"Well, you see, you aren't the Grand Ruler anymore. And Galfore has pardoned me, because I helped out with a little skirmish Tamaran had with the Gordanians, back when you were playing superhero on Earth. So I'm not going anywhere, little sister."

"I forbid you from seeing my daughter."

"No can do, sis. You see, since the three of us are Princesses, by our laws I always have access to her. You should just chill, that's what they say on Earth, right? What harm can come to your sweet Mar'i eating Earth food that she is so homesick for, especially since we both know that the Earth is certain to be destroyed."

"I see that it is you who is planting these fears in her head. I should have expected such treachery from one as despicable as you."

"I'm just telling her the plain truth, what is wrong with that?"

"It is not the truth. A cure will be found for the plague and Earth will be saved."

Blackfire grinned. "Have I ever told you how endearing you are when you believe in fantasies? Suck it up sister … we both know that the Earth doesn't stand a chance. It's finished and if I was you I would extract your hubby from that impending holocaust before it's too late."

"You know not of what you speak."

Blackfire smirked.

"If you won't do it for him or even for yourself, do it for your offspring."

Starfire balled her fists. "I will speak with Galfore about this."

She turned and walked towards the destroyed door, where she stopped. "Enjoy your man whore tonight, sister, for tomorrow you will be banished from Tamaran."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Oh, Sparky, you know how to make a girl feel good."

Karen purred as she curled up next to her boyfriend. His "soft" prosthetics felt real. Fortunately, the part of his body that had just given her so much pleasure was indeed real; he didn't lose it in the accident years before.

"It's what I do, baby."

"Well, you just keep on doing it, ok?"

Cyborg wrapped an arm around his petite lover and pulled her close to him. She responded by kissing him repeatedly on the neck, moaning happily between each kiss. He grinned and was about to return her kisses when his alarm clock began to chirp. He reached over and silenced it. There was a TV remote control on his nightstand, which he picked up.

"Oh baby, you aren't gonna watch TV now?"

"It's time for you know whose show." He replied as he turned on the set.

"Oh, him … I hate his guts."

"Me too, but I wouldn't miss it."

The flat screen hanging on the wall came to life, already tuned to the Gotham News Network. A man wearing what looked like a Bowler hat made of crinkled aluminum foil filled the screen.

"_Hello dear viewers, welcome to the G. Gordon Godfrey show. Tonight my special guest is Major Slade Wilson, US Army, retired. Good evening, Slade."_

"_Good evening, G. Gordon._"

Bumblebee sat up in the bed with a frown on her face. "I can't believe that Slade has the gall to appear on his show, how does he get away with it?"

"Technically, he hasn't broken any laws, though he and Godfrey are walking a fine line. They could be accused of inciting public unrest."

"Oh, Sparky, I so wanna bust Slade and throw his sorry butt into jail!"

"Get in line, babe, you got company, lots of company."

Godfrey continued speaking on the TV.

"_As you all know, during the past few weeks I have been accused of being a conspiracy nut, simply because I have been reporting the truth. My reputation as a journalist has been attacked by several world governments, including the United States. The United Nations and the Justice League have also attempted to slander me, calling me a sensationalist and even a liar."_

He removed the makeshift hat from his head and tossed it aside.

"_But let me tell you something, friends. I don't wear a tin foil hat, regardless of what my detractors might say. All I do is report the facts and let you decide. You do remember that it was I who uncovered the story about the Earth being blockaded by the Green Lantern Corps. At first the powers that be, namely your elected officials, denied the blockade. Have you noticed that they no longer deny the blockade and instead have switched to denying the imminent invasion that is about to happen?"_

The screen switched to a series of sound bites, where various leaders from around the globe vehemently denied that an alien invasion was imminent and questioned Godfrey's integrity, veracity and even his sanity.

"_Well, that sounded convincing, didn't it? If they say there won't be an alien invasion then we have nothing to worry about, right? I mean … they wouldn't lie to us, would they?"_

The next picture on the screen was that of an alien cruiser.

"_This picture was sent to us by amateur astronomer Kevin Higgins, of Payson, Arizona. He has reported that this alien ship is in geosynchronous orbit above our fair world. Now some of you might already recognize this ship, but in case you don't, my colleague, Major Wilson, will give you the details … Slade?"_

"_Yes, G. Gordon, most people should recognize this vessel, as a very similar one nearly destroyed Jump City on the west coast, just over 14 years ago. It's a Gordanian cruiser, very similar to the one that was once commanded by Lord Trogaar."_

"_Could you tell us why Trogaar's ship was visiting Earth at the time?"_

"_Certainly … it was pursuing a fugitive, one they were entitled to retain under galactic law. This dangerous fugitive took refuge on our fair world, placing it in grave danger."_

"_Tell us, Slade, who was this fugitive?"_

Old video footage of Starfire fighting with Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy, was shown as Slade continued to narrate.

"_It was none other than Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, better known to most as the former Teen Titan called Starfire."_

"_So you are saying, Slade, that the Titans illegally interfered with the capture of the fugitive, who they later made her a member of their little band of underage vigilantes?"_

"_They most certainly did, and by aiding and abetting the fugitive they placed Jump City in great peril. The Gordanians became righteously infuriated at this interference. So what was the Titans' response? They attacked the Gordanians and destroyed their ship."_

"_So, Slade, what is your assessment of this new Gordanian ship?"_

"_Well, it's safe to assume that this isn't a goodwill visit."_

"_Meaning?"_

"_This means that my prediction of an invasion is about to come true. The truth, Gordon, is that we are helpless against a Gordanian fleet. Their technology is centuries ahead of ours, if not more. We are about to undergo a planetary wide invasion, all because of four meddlesome teenagers who just wouldn't mind their own business fourteen years ago."_

"_Slade, I'm certainly not a strategist … so what can we do about the Gordanians? How can we possibly defend ourselves? Will the Green Lantern Corps protect us?"_

"_We can't, we're outmatched and outgunned. As for the Lanterns, the Gordanians have the law on their side, so we can assume they will be assisting the Gordanians. But I do have a suggestion … we can give them a peace offering."_

"_What do you have in mind, Slade?"_

"_It's very simple, actually. We capture as many Titans as we can and turn them over to the Gordanians. Unfortunately this won't be easy. For instance, it has been reported that Starfire has already fled the Earth; most cowardly I might add, to her home world of Tamaran. The other four original Titans are still on our world. We should track them down and capture them, along with any other members of their extended Titans family, and deliver them to the Gordanians as a good will gesture. If we are lucky, they might take their prisoners and leave us unharmed."_

"Screw that!" Cyborg shouted at the TV. "Does he really think the people will do that to us?"

Karen had an ashen look on her face. "Sparky … we might be in trouble."

"What? You think angry mobs are gonna storm the Tower with torches and pitchforks and capture us? There ain't gonna be no invasion, the government knows that, it's about the virus."

"And they want to keep that a secret … Sparky … I think we need to go into hiding."

"Say what? You gotta be kidding me. I ain't running away."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knocking on their door. It was Kole.

"Cyborg, Bumblebee, I don't mean to interrupt … there's a man from the local TV station on the phone. He wants to know if we're going to surrender voluntarily."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"I guess that will have to do." Nurse Washam replied. "Are you ready, doctor?"

"I suppose … how hard can it be?"

An alarmed looked swept over Raven's face. "Gar … you're going to deliver our baby? Do you even know what you're doing? You're an animal doctor!"

"It's close enough, Rave. And yes, I know what I'm doing."

Gar pulled a privacy curtain around them and help Raven change into a hospital gown. Once changed he led her back into the infirmary, where the nurse had already set up a med station for her. She took Raven from Gar, who vanished into a small room. The nurse helped Raven onto the med station, doing her best to make her comfortable as soon as she had settled in that another contraction had started. Raven remembered her breathing exercises and performed them, while she looked around the room.

_Where the hell is he?_

As if on cue a door opened and Garfield, dressed in surgical scrubs, returned to the infirmary. The nurse gently place Raven's feet in stirrups. It was then that Raven noticed that Alexa was nearby. She turned her head to face the buxom blond.

"Get the Trigon out. I don't want you here." Raven snarled at her.

"But what about Mark?" She replied. "Shouldn't he witness his sister's birth?"

"No, he shouldn't. Now get out before I send you to another dimension, and believe me, even in my current state I can still do it."

Raven glared at the women. "What are you waiting for? Get. Out."

Alexa picked up the boy and with a light harrumph she left the infirmary. Gar pulled another set of privacy curtains around the med station before sitting down at her feet. The nurse handed him a small ruler, which he used to measure her.

"Wow, you're already dilated 10 centimeters. It's time."

Raven raised her head and looked between her spread eagle legs. In between her legs she could see him in his scrubs. Years ago, when he was the team prankster, if anyone had told her that not only would he deliver her first baby, but he would be her husband and father of her child … well … she actually would have laughed, and she never laughed back then.

"Gar … I'm scared."

He gave her one of his signature smiles, with his little fang poking out of his mouth.

"I know, just remember, your body can handle this."

Raven nodded as he took her hand and squeezed it. "I know I'm supposed to be at your side, but I need to be down at the other end, I'm sorry Rave."

"I can get give you a sedative." The nurse interrupted.

"No! No drugs! I want to be fully lucid when my daughter is born."

The nurse stifled a smirk. She had heard that before. The only thing she wondered now was how loud Raven would scream as she gave birth. Then again, the gray woman was supposed to be a superhero, maybe she was made of steel or something.

Raven grimaced, another contraction was coming.

"How long is this going to take?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"She's crowning!" Gar cheered.

"You're almost there, sweetie." The matronly nurse reassured her. "On the next contraction, push. It will hurt like you won't believe, but it will be over soon."

Raven closed her eyes and began to whisper her mantra.

"Azarath, Mentrion, Zinthos …"

The contraction eased off and Raven exhaled as she relaxed. Gar abandoned his post and came to her side and kissed her. "You're doing great, hon."

"I hope you're right … Azar, a veterinarian is delivering our daughter."

Raven suddenly grimaced. "Oh Azar, the next one is starting!"

The Changeling ran back to his post, doing the best to hide the fact that he was terrified. He hoped that Raven was too busy dealing with her contraction to sense his fear.

"This is it, dear, push! Push as hard as you can." The nurse instructed her.

"It'll be OK, Raven!" He added.

Grabbing the special handles at the side of her bed with all her might, her face scrunched in agony, Raven pushed. And then she cried in pain. Without being told she continued pushing. Her eyes were screwed shut, so she couldn't see her husband, but she could hear him.

"You're almost there, keep pushing!" He shouted.

Suddenly, the pain lessened and was almost gone. Then she heard another sound, perhaps the sweetest sound she ever heard: Coraline began to cry.

"Where is she? I want to see her!" She shouted.

"Just a second, babe, I'm clearing her nasal passages."

Using a suction device he removed the goop that remained inside Coraline's nose. The child continued to cry while he wiped the layer of grease off her skin. With the umbilical cord still attached, he handed the child to her mother's open arms. Tears of joy streamed down Raven's face.

"Oh, Coraline, my daughter, you are so beautiful."

The nurse, with a happy smile on her face, watched the doctor tenderly kiss his wife. "You did great, Rae, just great." He proudly praised her.

The child had her mother's gray complexion and the nurse noticed that she had green hair, like her father. No one would question who her paternity. Washam was familiar with the hookup and swinging scene in the facility, and knew that other couples in the lab might need a DNA test to confirm paternity of a newborn. And speaking of hookups, she had a date that night with that sexy facilities engineer, a Hispanic man named Frank Marquez. Well, at least she thought he was sexy, even if he was 53 years old. She wasn't exactly a spring chicken herself, but she was still a woman. And she had already decided that unless he turned out to be a jerk that Frank might just be getting lucky later that night.

"Doctor, will you still need my assistance? I … uh … had plans for the evening."

"I have everything under control, Miss Washam, and so does Raven. Thanks for your assistance." He replied as he cut the umbilical cord and placed the afterbirth in a bucket.

Washam stepped into a changing room and after donning her civvies she stepped out. She gasped at the sight before her: Raven, still dressed in her hospital gown, was levitating in the air with her eyes closed. Gar, who was tending to Coraline, weighing her and giving the child her first bath, noticed the awe struck nurse.

"Doctor … what is she doing?"

He smiled at the nurse. "She's in a healing trance, once she's done, you won't be able to tell that she was pregnant."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I expect that her uterus will return to its normal size, and that any traumas, tears and stretching she might have endured during the birth will be gone."

"I don't believe it, that's amazing!"

He nodded his agreement. "It is, but she is an amazing woman, and I'm damn lucky that she's mine."

The nurse looked at the child, who was tightly wrapped in receiving blankets and was already asleep in her father's arms.

"Will she have any super powers?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? But I would be surprised if she didn't. Personally I'm hoping that she inherits powers from both of us."

"Amazing." She muttered to herself before leaving the infirmary.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Twilight was approaching the mountainside. Babs was suiting up, loading her utility belt with bolo ropes, batarangs and grappling guns. Nightwing was already outside the cave, checking the mountainside sensors on his portable scanner. So far there were no runners. As Babs emerged from the cave he noticed a UN helicopter approaching in the distance. He pointed at it and Babs nodded.

"I hope they have supplies this time. We're out of everything." She complained.

"I wouldn't hold my breath." He replied. "Something's going on, and I'm sick of being kept in the dark."

The chopper landed in a nearby clearing. A man, wearing a light blue UN beret and insignia that identified his rank as a Colonel hopped out of the helicopter and approached them. Nightwing was the first to speak.

"You'd better have supplies in there for us."

The Colonel was American; he was tall, muscular with a chiseled face.

"I'm sorry son." He replied with a Southern accent. "I didn't being any."

"How the hell are we supposed to do our job without them?" Babs snapped at him. He handed her a sheet of paper, which she quickly read. When she was done her arms dropped to her side and the paper fell from her hand.

"Batgirl … what is it?"

"It's your orders, son." The colonel answered for Babs.

"Our orders?"

The colonel nodded. "Your mission's over. The quarantine failed. There's nothing left for you to do here."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Nothing. You're going home."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Multiple cliff hangers! Don't tell me you don't love it!

And once again, thanks for all the reviews! There were 37 for the previous chapter. That's about as many as I received for all the chapters of my first Teen Titans fan fic story, the since removed "A Square Peg in a Round Hole."

And now, mailbag time.

EP – I hope you enjoyed your vacation.

JOHNXgambit – Alexa has no idea of how lucky she is.

Felerial - Raven also has a willpower of steel

ToraHimeSama – Amazingly, Blackfire is under Galfore's protection … for now.

Guest – Nope, Mark is not a clone.

Kidstandout - You will find out eventually why Mark doesn't like Alexa.

Guest - I have been thinking about a part 2 for A House Divided. I just haven't been able to think of a good plot for it, and until I do, I won't write a second part.

MeowSaysKat – Three very different women.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – I'll have to look into that.

DeeThom – There does seem to be some Babs/Grayson potential in the New 52. Babs did seem miffed when she found Dick with that childhood friend of his (Geez Grayson, a one night stand with a childhood friend?)

Katt In The Boxx – Because we still need Alexa in the story. She has a very pivotal role to play later.

SuperNolon – Alexa likes to play with fire.

Sweetums14 – The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ will always be true to each other.

Bri - I will do my best!

chica13 - Yeah!

Randamwriter – I'm sure Rage would love to see Alexa's head on a pike. Lucky for Alexa Rage isn't in charge.

Pb03 – Poor Eddie (Kid Devil). I thought it sucked that Rose didn't mourn his death.

gabylokita41 – Alexa really does deserve a terrible fate.

BartWLewis – Will Alexa be on the receiving end of a well deserved end? Or will she slip away like Blackfire always does?

Bluedog197 – Alexa seems pretty forward. Makes you wonder what she's really up to.

Me – Thanks!

Anoymous136 – Raven thanks you for your kind words.

TJSC25 – Poor Babs, she's really had a tough life.

bigC94 - And even more activity in this one!

The Cretin – There is a saying: "You can have as many wives as you want, just one at a time." And good thing too, I can't even begin to imagine the complex dynamics in a polyamorous relationship. And yes, that was a really long and thoughtful review. Thanks!

Shadico – BB will find out soon enough.

Its me again - I suppose that being in their controlled environment they feel safe enough to indulge.

KroovyRed – Thanks, knowing that you hate her means I did a good job with her.

spartan585 – Unlike in say "Carved in Stone" they will remain faithful to each other.

js12601 – BB is going to be ticked off!

Wolf of IndigoRiver – I haven't decided if he will cheat or not. If he doesn't, he will come dangerously close.

titanfan45 – That was pretty ballsy of Alexa, to refer to herself as the "senior wife", with full rights to BB's body.

mlbv-grimm – She's now officially a mom.

JasonVUK – We found out that Mark is NOT a clone.

Maddielove95 – The full truth about Mark won't be revealed until the very end … so be patient

Chayse-man - For the breaking water?

Dragonkyng – That would be sinister!


	32. Never Turn Your Back on a Lover

Footsteps echoed in the long palace hallways. The ubiquitous guards, wearing their helmets and carrying their pikes, snapped to attention as the red headed princess stomped past them. Her eyes looked as if they were made of steel, and edges on her face looked as if they were formed from flint. She soon reached her destination at the end of the hallway, where a huge, double door blocked her path. Several armored sentries guarded the door and she merely grunted at them as she stopped. Two of the burly men pulled the doors open and without even a thank you she marched into the room that waited beyond the door.

A large round table was in the middle of the room. Galfore was seated in the chair with the highest back, which was reserved for the Grand Ruler. Several men and women were also seated at the table, and were also discussing something in very belligerent and animated voices. They fell silent and their attention was redirected to the door. Galfore saw the princess and smiled.

"I see you have finally decided to assume your seat on the council." A middle aged woman acknowledged Starfire. "The presence of the Royal Family has long been absent … and your sister is unfit to take that role."

Starfire took her seat, another high backed chair that was taller than the others, and it had the family crest on it.

"I wish to speak about my sister."

Galfore nodded. "We were just discussing this year's agricultural output, but we can table that, my Princess. Speak, Koriand'r, what do you wish to discuss about your sister?"

"Why did you pardon her? You know that she cannot be trusted."

Galfore frowned. "I sympathize with your reservations. Do understand that the pardon was not unconditional. Though her rank as princess was restored, it was not fully restored. As Arianda said, she cannot take a seat on this council. That is reserved only for you and your offspring. Few of her privileges have been restored. Her rank is now primarily one of honor alone."

Starfire crossed her arms and scowled. "She behaves shamefully … she has taken her escort, a young lieutenant, as her lover."

"We are aware of that." A grizzly general named Kessa'd replied.

"Then why have you done nothing about it?"

Galfore cleared his throat. "We thought that if she was occupied in the bedroom that she might … stay out of trouble."

"She has not. Galfore, I demand that she be banished again."

Murmurs engulfed the huge round table. A small man, small by Tamaranian standards as he still stood at a towering two meters of height, rose from his chair. Starfire recognized him as the Minister of Justice.

"Milady, your sister was pardoned for services to the crown. She has been exonerated of all her past crimes. She cannot be banished again, unless of course she has committed treason anew. My Princess, what is your accusation against her?"

Starfire stood up, balling her fists in anger. "She is trying to turn my daughter against me."

"Would you elaborate, Koriand'r?" Galfore remarked.

"She is telling my daughter that we have forsaken her father, and is using gifts of food from Earth to persuade her."

Galfore stoked his beard. "Forgive me, my dear child, but we are all under the impression of that, namely your abandoning your mate, being the truth."

"It is not!"

"Then why is he not here?"

"You know very well why. He remained on Earth to protect it."

"A task that he will fail to accomplish." Another councilwoman remarked.

"I. Have. Not. Forsaken. Him." Starfire gesticulated angrily, pointing her index finger at the woman. "And he will succeed!"

Galfore raised his hand in a conciliatory gesture. "I believe you. But I am afraid that this is a family matter. While I agree that Kommand'r is behaving inappropriately, this is not a matter for the state and is certainly not an offense punishable by banishment."

"You know that she is up to no good."

"Perhaps." The Minister of Justice interjected. "But until she commits a crime … my hands are tied."

"By then it will be too late. Have you all forgotten how she usurped the throne?"

"There are now safeguards in place to prevent that from again." Councilwoman Arianda remarked.

Starfire harrumphed her disagreement. "You underestimate her cunning. And you are all fools for pardoning her and allowing her to return to Tamaran."

An old man glared at her. "You are the princess, but you will not address the council or the Grand Ruler in such a disrespectful manner."

"Hear, hear!" A chorus of voices rang.

Starfire rose from her seat. "I see that I have wasted my time warning you … I will trouble you no more."

Without saying another word she turned a left the council chamber. From the shadows a pair of glowing, violet colored eyes had been watching. As Starfire left, the eyes closed and were gone.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Nightwing and Batgirl, still stunned by the news, climbed into the helicopter. The Colonel followed them and gestured to the pilot, who guided the whirlybird into the African sky. The officer sat down opposite of Dick and Babs and after donning his headsets, he gestured them to do the same.

"The name's Cranston, Colonel Lamont Cranston."

"How bad is it Colonel, how far has it spread already?" Batgirl asked.

"It's pretty bad, ma'am. We're seeing outbreaks in Nairobi and Kampala."

"Anything outside of Africa yet?" Nightwing asked.

"Not yet, but it's only a question of time." The Colonel remarked in a grim voice.

"We'll do anything we can to help." Babs interjected.

"Actually, ma'am, we'd rather you not help."

Nightwing grew indignant. "What? Are you blaming the quarantine failure on us?"

The Colonel shook his head. "No, it wasn't your fault."

"They why don't you want our help?"

"I don't know how else to tell you this … but both of you are wanted … there's a bounty on your heads. My job is to safely and anonymously deliver you to Titans East Tower. Our trip will be in full stealth mode, no one will know where you are during transit. After that … I'm sorry, but you're on your own."

"Who placed a bounty on our heads?"

"Ever heard of G. Gordon Godfrey?"

"The tabloid journalist? Why would he put a bounty on us? And if he did, why isn't the government stopping him." Nightwing fumed.

The Colonel bit his lower lip before answering.

"He thinks that the Gordanians want to invade the Earth, in retaliation for what you Titans did to Trogaar years ago. He has no clue that they and many other alien battle cruisers currently in orbit want to turn the Earth into a piece of slag to stop the plague. He thinks that if he turns over as many Titans and their friends as possible to the Gordanians, that they might go away and leave us alone."

Babs shook her head in disbelief. "And the government is doing nothing because it covers up the real problem."

"That's right ma'am. I'm sorry."

Nightwing gave the Colonel a critical look. Grayson had a knack for reading people's faces. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Cranston nodded. "Godfrey has retained Slade Wilson as a so called military advisor on his show. It was Slade's idea to deliver you to the Gordanians … look … I'm sorry, if it was up to me, we would have taken Slade into military custody, but the people in charge, they have other ideas."

Grayson heaved a sigh. "Thank you for being candid with us, Colonel."

Cranston nodded, then headed into the cockpit. Nightwing's face suddenly became grim.

"It's over, Babs, it's done. The whole world will be infected in a few weeks."

"Maybe they've made some progress with the vaccine." She replied.

"Cranston would have told us if they had … I'm never going to see them again, my wife, my daughter, am I?"

"You don't know that, Dick. We're still alive, and as long as there is life, there's hope."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry at first, but it quickly came into focus. The first thing she saw was his smiling, green face above her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually."

"Does anything hurt?"

"No … nothing hurts now … but it sure did hurt when she came out … where is she?."

"She's right over here, asleep."

Gar turned around and gently removed his daughter from the tiny, translucent bed where she was sleeping. Coraline was tightly wrapped in a receiving blanket. She opened her tiny eyes and yawned. Her father smiled approvingly before turning to his wife. He reached for Raven's shoulder and popped a few buttons on her hospital gown. Its front fell forward, exposing Raven's right breast. He gently handed the baby to her mother.

"I think she might be hungry."

Raven had read a few books on the art of nursing a baby, but none of them could have truly prepared her for the event she was about to experience. She moved the baby's head to her breast and with her free hand she inserted her nipple into the child's mouth. Coraline quickly latched on began to suckle with great enthusiasm. Raven looked both awestruck and overjoyed. She was so enraptured by the moment that she didn't notice when he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her very tenderly.

"Have I ever told you how amazing you are?" He whispered.

"A few times." She smirked. "But don't let that stop you from telling me again."

The continued to kiss for a few minutes and only stopped when Coraline fell asleep again and stopped suckling. He pulled up a chair and sat next to his wife.

"I examined you just before you woke up. You accomplished in an hour what takes most women a few months to achieve. I'm no stranger to your healing powers, but even I'm surprised … other than your engorged breasts there's no sign that you were ever pregnant."

"So, you're saying that we can immediately resume our love life?"

"I like the way you think, babe." He wagged his eyebrows at her. "But that will have to wait until later. I need to get back to the lab for a few hours. There is one thing I'm curious about, why did you go into labor? And it went so quickly too, not that I'm complaining, heck; you were fully dilated by the time you got here. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were under some kind of duress. Or did this have something to do with your demon physiology?"

"Actually, it had a bit to do with both … and with Alexa."

"What did she do this time?"

Raven shook her head. "It's almost unbelievable."

"I work with those people; I think you'd have a hard time shocking me."

"Did you know that Matt McCall wants to have sex with me?"

"Ok … I'm officially shocked. Is this for real?"

"Oh, it gets even better. Alexa suggested … no … she demanded that I share you with her and Barbara McCall, at least while I recovered from child birth … I can't wait to see her face when I finds out that I'm fully recovered."

"Raven, are you serious? This isn't a joke, is it?"

"It's not a joke. She even gave me a book about polyamory, a book that claims monogamy is unnatural and even unhealthy … and guess who wrote it?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Why do I think I'm going to be surprised?"

"It was Dr. Barbara McCall."

"Ok, that really isn't all that surprising … but that's not what stressed you, is it?"

"Well, Alexa was really pissing me off. But then she went too far."

"What did she do? I gotta hear this."

"She claimed that she was your wife."

"That's ridiculous … why? Because I had a drunken one night stand with her?"

"You have a child with her."

"Please, don't remind me."

"She goes out of her way everyday to remind me. But there's more. She claimed that she is the "senior wife" in her fantasy harem, and that she has the right to sleep with you and that I can't do anything about it."

Gar burst out laughing. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"She was serious, Gar. She was demanding that I share you with her. She tried to convince me, saying that if I shared you and if I messed around with some other guys, that you and I would have a richer and stronger relationship."

"Whatever Alexa's smoking, I want some of that."

"Oh, Gar, don't tell me you smoked weed when you were in college."

"Uh … getting back to Alexa, what happened next?"

"I … I kind of lost control." She stammered.

"You mean you went all Ragey on her?"

"You could say that."

"I'll bet she crapped in her shorts."

"Actually, she was pretty cool about it. I have to give her credit, she seemed pretty unfazed, at least until the tentacles appeared and I flipped her upside down … and I threatened to send her to another dimension and not bring her back."

"Ouch … that was harsh, but she did have it coming."

"I was actually going to do it … and that was when my water broke."

"And after all that, she brought you here?"

"She did, and wouldn't shut up either. She kept prattling about us being co-wives and co-mothers. I almost sent her to another dimension anyway."

"So that's why you told her to get the hell out of the infirmary."

"I wasn't aware that I needed a reason." Raven grinned maliciously.

"You know what I mean."

As if on cue, Alexa poked her head into the infirmary. Her usual smirk was absent and instead she looked intense and very serious. Gar noticed her first.

"Alexa? Is something wrong?"

"You could say that … the quarantine in Africa failed, the disease is spreading like wild fire."

"That means we're running out of time." Raven interjected.

"That's an understatement … we have at most three weeks left." Alexa replied. "Raven, you can do magic, right?"

"Yes, I am a sorceress." She replied in her monotone. "Why do you ask?"

"Is there any kind of spell that eliminates the need to sleep? If we could do that then we could all work around the clock."

"There is, but prolonged use of it can be harmful."

"It's a risk we'll have to take … start with me and Gar. I'll send up the others in small groups."

"Didn't you hear me? If I keep everyone awake for three weeks, they could suffer brain damage."

"Yes, I heard you. But we have to work around the clock on this. If we fail, it won't matter if we're brain damaged or not … it'll be the end of the human race."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Starfire returned to her room, and quietly glided out to the massive balcony, the one where Robin once met, asking her to leave with him and not marry the horrendous and disgusting sclurch. That memory now felt so distant that it almost seemed like a dream that never truly happened. She raised her gaze to the sky and was able to see Sol, Earth's star, which shone with its dull, yellow light, a small, mediocre star in an ocean of dazzling diamonds. Had it not been so close to Vega and Tamaran the tiny and unremarkable star would probably be invisible to the naked eye.

The princess sighed and a tear dripped down her face. She returned to her room and sat on a chair, fighting back the feeling of loneliness that was overwhelming her. It was certainly a paradox, a contradiction. Richard was a weakling by Tamaranian standards and he had no superpowers. Yet she craved being wrapped in his arms. It was only then that she truly felt safe and complete. But now he was so far away, and the Council was convinced that Earth was doomed and that she had forsaken her spouse.

Starfire's gloomy funk was interrupted by an incoming call on the console in her room. She flitted over to the console and pressing a strangely shaped button (why did humans insist on button's being either round or four sided?) the view screen came to life. To her immense joy Raven appeared on the screen, holding a newborn in her arms.

"Raven! You have given birth!"

"Yes, I have. Say hello to Coraline Logan."

"This is glorious! But how are you able to contact me? Earth is under siege and all communications are blocked,."

"I called in a favor from Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern who helped you escape from Earth."

"I see." Starfire grinned before shouting into the room. "Mar'i! Wake up! Your Aunt Raven is on the phone and her baby has been born."

A clearly disheveled Nightstar, her hair a tangled, bed headed mess, ran to her mother's side.

"Aunt Raven! Is that baby Coraline!?"

Raven allowed one of her small smiles to appear on her face. "Yes, she is."

"She looks like you … she's so pretty!"

"Thank you, Mar'i … so Starfire, how are things at home?"

"They are not good, my dear friend. Galfore has pardoned Blackfire and she has returned to Tamaran and she is already trying to poison my daughter's mind with lies. She has told her that we abandoned Richard on Earth and that I do not love him anymore."

Raven cleared her throat. "Mar'i?"

"Yes, Aunt Raven?"

"You know that your Aunt Blackfire is lying to you. Your mother would never abandon your father."

"I should never have left Earth." Starfire moaned.

"You made the right choice Starfire. We're in big trouble here. The quarantine has failed."

Starfire gasped. "Then all hope is lost."

"Not yet, but doomsday is approaching. Everyone here in the lab is working around the clock and I still believe that there is a good chance they will find a cure … but in case they do not I am preparing a contingency plan."

"A plan, what sort of plan?"

"An escape plan. If it comes to the point of Earth being destroyed I will move as many Titans as possible to another dimension before they're infected. After laying low there for a while we can come back to this dimension and start over the human race on another world. I would prefer to save the whole world, but I don't see how we could go up against the entire Green Lantern Corp. Plus if everyone is infected they would all be dead by that time anyway."

Starfire nodded her understanding. "It is a good plan, Raven, you have always been the thoughtful one on our team."

"There is a problem … no one knows where Dick is, we can't get in touch with him. Starfire … listen carefully, I've made an arrangement with Hal Jordan to allow you and Nightstar to return to Earth. You can leave her with us while you go find your husband. I can't say this enough: time is of the essence. You must return to Earth as soon as possible."

"There is an emergency shuttle parked on Tamaran's third moon. I could fly back to Earth under my own power, but it would be difficult for Nightstar, since she is a child. Also, the shuttle will be faster than I could fly."

"Good, when you approach Earth, use these coordinates. Jordan will meet you there, fake your capture and take you straight down to the lab. I will teleport you inside. Understood?"

The Princess nodded. "I will arrive as soon as possible … Raven … thank you for thinking of me."

"No need to thank me, but please hurry. Raven out."

The screen went dark. Starfire picked her daughter up. "We must hurry and prepare to leave, my child."

"We're going to see Daddy, right?"

"Yes, we are. But we have a long journey ahead of us. We must prepare ourselves."

The young princess didn't need to be told twice. She quickly changed out of her pajamas and packed her bag.

"I'm ready, Mommy!" The child beamed. Starfire picked her and the small suitcase up, and took off, soaring into the nighttime sky.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Watching from her own balcony, Blackfire grinned as she observed her sister and niece fly away. Frassa'd watch with troubled eyes.

"Milady, shouldn't we report this to the Grand Ruler?"

She gave him a harsh look. "Tell Galfore? Why would I want to do that?"

"My Princess, I am confused."

"Of course you are. You see, Frassa'd, my sister has always been a thorn in my side. She deposed me when I was the Grand Ruler, and her half breed brat is now next in line for the throne. Now they will return to Earth, where they will die at the hands of the Green Lanterns. It couldn't be more perfect. Once they are gone there will be no other heirs to the throne. Then all I need to do is arrange for Galfore to have an 'accident' and I will once again be the Grand Ruler of Tamaran."

Frassa'd's eyes widened upon hearing of her plan, but he did not betray his concern.

"I am certain that you will be a wise and just ruler."

Blackfire laughed. "As if! No Frassa'd, I will rule Tamaran with an iron fist. I will execute all those who opposed me last time. Blood will flow in the streets. I will be feared, not only by my people, but by the whole galaxy! We will invade and conquer, and our first conquest will be the Centauri system. They will regret having thrown me into one of their prisons to rot just because I borrowed one of their stupid moon emeralds. They will rue that day as they mourn their dead."

"But what about the Green Lanterns, milady? Surely they will come to the defense of the Centaurians."

"It's about time that someone show Oa that they don't call the shots anymore … I will form an alliance with Sinestro."

"But my Princess, this, this is …"

"Madness? Of course it is. But all of the great geniuses and leaders throughout history were considered mad men and women. I am just another genius, perhaps the greatest of them all."

"But milady …"

Blackfire turned around, facing her bedchamber. "Come, Frassa'd, I wish to celebrate my good fortune … in my bed."

Unlike Blackfire, who was of royal blood, Frassa'd could not conjure star bolts nor did he have eyebeams. His primary weapon was a standard Tamaranian plasma blaster, which was issued to all officers. He reached for his holster, drew his weapon … and fired. Blackfire staggered as she slowly turned around to face him. Where her heart used to be there was now a large, smoldering hole in her chest. She mouthed the word 'why?' before collapsing. She was dead before her head hit the floor.

"Forgive me, my princess. I will always love you … but I love Tamaran even more."

Tears welling in his glowing green eyes, he aimed his blaster at his head and pulled the trigger.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Blackfire is dead! Who would have thought that Frassa'd had the stones to do it? I'm sure you would have preferred Alexa to die, but she still has a big role to play in this story

And now, it's mailbag time! 37 reviews at this time. What can I say, other than thanks?

Fl4mingTurd - I am always touched when someone finds one of my stories and reads it in just a few days

TrollingGirl – Cliff hangers are my specialty!

DeeThom – I can't imagine them surrendering so easily.

LSUABW – Thanks … now I want to have a Guinness!

Soulsurfer2112 – I like to mix adventure and drama in a story, though my observation is that my readers prefer drama over adventure.

Notabotipromise - You didn't have to wait that long, though I will admit that bouncing back and forth between this story and Carved in Stone is challenging.

Katt In The Boxx - Alexa will get what she deserves in the end. Just what that is, I won't tell you at this moment.

TheDarkChangeling - Sorry about that

EP – That's too bad. Where did you go?

Pb03 – Hmmm … I haven't decided yet what powers, if any, Coraline will have.

TortallianTimelord - Recovering from childbirth is a really big deal. Raven is very lucky to have her powers.

BartWLewis – You mean like have the X-ray machine fall on her or something?

Sweetums14 - I hope your ex-best friend isn't dead!

ComicSuperheroLedgendVideoGame – All interesting thoughts.

Kidstandout - The real question is how much does Slade really know? And you know that he also had an escape plan of his own … he always does!

TW - The situation is looking grim

JOHNXgambit - Imagine giving birth

Me – Thanks!

Death Stroke The Kid – No kidding!

Randamwriter – Raven has connections!

Shadico - As you can see, her plan was to drive Star away. Things, however, didn't work out for Blackfire. Regarding Star's second pregnancy, that was unveiled just before Raven and Gar headed off to the lab

gabylokita41 – Thanks!

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – It was her undoing

Bluedog197 – Why Mark doesn't like Alexa will be revealed

The Cretin – Blackfire just said that to get Frassa'd to take the Viagra

TJSC25 – Alexa always has an ulterior motive.

Anoymous136 – She viewed him as a plaything. She seriously misjudged him.

TheThoughtsofKarasu - She's on her way!

SuperNolon - Yeah, she is a nympho, heck she was all over Robin in the episode "Sisters"

Wolf of IndigoRiver – I think Raven would be a good mom

WishToBeYouSomeday – There's now in this story that will happen. Carved in Stone … that's another matter altogether.

titanfan45 - Makes you wonder if Alexa is really that stupid?

Katie TDC – I will eventually finish Bulls Eye, though I might overhaul it and start over, like I did with 8 Years Later and Carved in Stone

Dragonkyng – Eventually they would learn the truth as the pandemic would spread. Knowing Godfrey, he would say that it's part of the alien attack, a form of biological warfare.

bigC94 – I felt sorry for Frassa'd. That scene was proof that there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing"

mlbv-grimm – A clone is a genetic copy of another organism.


	33. The Old Flame

"Sparky! Tell me we're ready to go online!"

Bumblebee stared out the window from the T shaped Steele City landmark. A mixed crowd of mercenaries, bounty hunters, police officers and even common criminals had gathered in the esplanade in front of the tower, and all of them were brandishing weapons: rifles, plasma guns and other assorted handheld weapons. They looked eager and some even looked angry.

What appeared to be a modified tugboat pulled up to the Tower's seaside dock and about a dozen men, carrying a battering ram, emerged from it and approached the Tower's main entrance. They had a steely look of determination in their eyes and Bumblebee anxiously watched them approach.

"Almost!" Cyborg shouted back.

A dull and deep thud resonated throughout the Tower.

"The door will hold." He reassured her. "I designed it myself."

A second thud was heard. The main door creaked, but continued to hold.

"Sparky!"

"I'm working as fast as I can … dammit … we should have installed and tested the retractable armor weeks ago."

Speedy came running up the stairs and charged into the common room.

"The door's holding, but if they bring any serious firepower, we're in trouble."

Cyborg's fingers danced across the keyboard. The words: "Diagnostic Failure, Cannot Deploy Shielding" kept flashing.

Come on, you piece of crap … work! … Oh hell … I'm gonna reboot!"

"Whoa, then we'll have to wait 90 seconds before we can try deploying the shielding again." She replied.

"I know, but it ain't working. I installed some new drivers, it should work after the reboot … if I ever get my hands on Slade … I'm gonna kill him! Who does he think he is, offering a bogus bounty on us?"

Bumblebee turned to Speedy. "Get the T-Ship ready to fly. Engines running, flight plan, the works."

"We ain't bugging out!" Cyborg shouted. "Not yet!"

Bumblebee was watching the dock on a TV screen. Another boat pulled up and four men hopped out, carrying a large, high tech looking cannon. They shouted as they pushed their way to the main door, shoving the crowd aside. Bumblebee's face paled when she recognized the weapon.

"Where did they get a BFG-9000? … Sparky! Tell me you're ready to deploy the shielding!"

"Hang on!"

"No! Tell me it's deployed, or we're leaving!"

"We don't have any place to go!" He shouted back.

"We'll find a place!" She screeched as the four men mounted the BFG on a beefy tripod.

Cyborg typed in a command on the keyboard. The words "Deployment in progress" flashed on the screen as the BFG's plasma chamber began to charge. The shielding rolled out, covering the entire building. The four men shouted as they aimed their ominous looking weapon at the door, which had yet to be covered by the scale like armor.

"Shielding deployed." The screen announced in green text just as the BFG-9000 fired. The entire Tower shuddered, but was not breached.

Bumblebee slumped into her chair. "Dammit, Sparky, that was too close for comfort."

"I told you I had everything under control."

She gave him an angry glare, which quickly disappeared and was replaced by a sigh. "So now what do we do?"

"We have six months of rations and supplies. We stay put; this is as safe as any place we could go. We should also send out an all Titans alert to warn them about the bounty. They're welcome to come here, but they probably wouldn't make it past the mob outside."

"So that's it? We just wait?" She complained.

"If we can draw attention here, maybe they won't catch anyone else."

Karen sighed unhappily. "I hope you're right Sparky. I really do."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Mother and Daughter clandestinely approached the small moon, the smallest of Tamaran's natural satellites. The dark rock, which had an asteroid like irregular shape, was not even 30 miles in diameter and orbited Tamaran every 8 hours. Luck was on their side as Vega was unusually active and a full blown solar storm was in effect, filling the star system with all sorts of interference, enough that planetary sensors would not have detected their departure via self flight.

The two princesses cautiously approached a metal door, which is where Galfore, years ago when he was her knorfka, told her it would be. She keyed in the code he made her memorize as a child and the door slid open. The station was a secret base, one Galfore had commissioned for her safety, should she ever need to go into hiding or worse, escape from Tamaran. It had never been used before. The door slid shut behind them and the airlock was pressurized. Nightstar took a deep breath of air and exhaled quickly. Her mother knew there was no way she could make it to Earth on her own power … which is why they were here.

"Are you OK?" Her mother asked her.

"I never held my breath so long."

"When you are older, you won't need to breathe, as long as there is a star nearby, you will be able to use the sunlight to perform the carbon release in your skin. But today we shall take a vessel."

Starfire led the child into a hanger, where a stunning looking Sunfire corvette was waiting. Galfore had told her that it was specially modified and could achieve Warp factor 6, which was twice as fast as anything else in the Tamaranian fleet at the time and could still outrun anything in the fleet today, thanks to its Psion designed engines. How he procured them, he never told her, thought it was more than obvious that he pair a dear price for them. The corvette would be able to reach the Sol system in less than a day. She knew that the ship was already loaded with non perishable supplies and it was Xenothium fueled and ready to go.

Starfire sat down in the pilot's seat and began the preflight check, quickly flipping switches. She beckoned her daughter to sit next to her.

"Mommy, are we really going home to find daddy?"

"Yes, we are. And forgive me, my daughter, I never should have agreed to return without him."

Starfire pressed a button on a panel and a huge metal door opened, exposing the previously decompressed hangar to space. She gently pulled back on a lever and the Sunfire lurched forward, leaving the hangar behind. As she deftly guided the corvette the nav computer abruptly announced: "Course laid in for Earth. Ready to engage FTL drives."

"Are you ready, my child?"

The youngster nodded.

"Good, for tonight we shall have pizza for dinner."

Starfire pulled on another the lever and the space around the ship appeared to distort, as the warp field was formed. The ship once again lurched forward and jumped into otherspace.

They were going home.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven entered the library, carrying a bassinette, where Coraline was happily napping. She walked up to her desk and gently placed the tiny infant bed on the desktop. The gray skinned baby fussed, but did not wake. Raven then noticed the McCall's book was still on her desk. She picked it up as she sat down, and flipped it over. There was a picture of McCall on the rear of the dust jacket. She had a beaming smile on her face. The dust jacket also had the expected "critic review" quotes on it:

"McCall tells it like it is." – Bill Clifton, Swinger Magazine.

"Are open marriages stronger marriages? Barbara McCall makes a compelling case!" Tamara Jones – Playboy Magazine.

There were more dubious endorsements on the cover, which Raven didn't bother to read. Instead, she unceremoniously tossed the book into a dust bin, where it landed with a resounding thud.

"That's no way to treat a book."

Raven turned and saw Matt McCall standing at the Library's entrance.

"It's my library; I decide what goes in it." She replied in her monotone.

Matt retrieved the book from the trashcan, wiping the cover clean with his sleeve. He looked at Raven and smiled. "You think this book is smut, don't you?"

"It makes a case for empty, loveless sex." She calmly replied.

"No, it doesn't."

"Oh please, don't tell me that you actually love every woman you mess around with."

"First of all, I don't "mess around". And yes, I have feelings for every woman I'm with."

"You must have a lot of love to share." She remarked in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You don't how right you are."

"And I suppose that you love me too?"

"I find you very intriguing."

"Because you've never had sex with a gray skinned woman before?"

Matt smiled sardonically. "Now you're just being cynical."

"Am I?"

Matt nodded. "Yes, you are. You've allowed yourself to be blinded by preconceived notions about intimacy."

"Mr. McCall, if you want to be a swinger, be one. But leave me out of it, I'm not interested."

McCall sat down next to her.

"I'm not a swinger; all of my relationships are enduring."

Raven stared at him, but did not reply.

"I heard about your recovery. Nurse Washam said that you're ready to resume sexual relations. I find that to be simply astounding."

"She told you this? When? Medical matters are supposed to be confidential."

"Well, yeah, they are, but there are no secrets in the lab. As for when, last night, her date with Frank didn't go all that well … so I stepped in and helped her experience her own feminine beauty."

"Isn't she a bit old for you? She's at least in her fifties. How old are you? 30? She's old enough to be your mother."

"I'm twenty eight. And no, she isn't too old for me. You see, Raven, I think all women are beautiful."

Raven smirked. "I will give you credit, you're smooth … but you're also full of crap."

"Raven … why do you resist? You know that you won't be seeing him at all for a while, now that you've cast the no-sleep spell on the researchers you'll be lucky to see him at mealtime."

"And you're supposed to be a surrogate for him?"

"Of course not … I'm supposed to be a new experience for you. I'll enrich your life, opening you to perspectives and outlooks you didn't know even existed. You'll learn things about yourself you never expected. When you get back with him you will experience each other in ways you can't even imagine!"

Raven shook her head. "I don't believe this … the world is on the verge of annihilation and all you can think about is getting me into bed and having sex with me."

"Could you think of anything better to do at the end of the world?"

"I can think of plenty of things that would be better choices than having a sleazy fling with you … now take your wife's book and get the Trigon out of here."

McCall shrugged and taking the book he walked away. He stopped at the library's entrance and turned around. "You don't know what you're missing."

"I think I do … I'll pass."

McCall smiled at her. "There are rumors, Raven. Rumors that you are not as repressed as you claim to be."

"I never said I was repressed. As for your rumors, I couldn't care less about them."

He smiled seductively at her. She felt her stomach churn. "There is a rumor that Nightwing is a former lover of yours, and that when Starfire found out she left Earth with her daughter."

"You made that up and you know it."

"Oh, I don't think so. Come on, Raven, you know that you want to taste another man … just admit it to yourself. You know it's true."

Raven glared at him. "I won't ask you again to leave. And if you don't, or if you ever bring this subject up again in my presence I will teach you the true meaning of pain … meaning I'll use my powers … have I made myself clear?"

With a look of resignation he shrugged his shoulders. "As you wish." He replied before leaving the library.

Raven sighed. She knew that he was eventually going to approach her, but she never would have guessed that he would be so brazen. She looked up at the clock on the wall. Starfire wasn't due to arrive for at least eight more hours. And then there was Mark. He was in the daycare at the moment, but after hours she was stuck with the boy, who was still dying to meet his baby sister. And she wouldn't get to see her husband until dinner time, after which he would return to work the entire night.

It was going to be a long day.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The modified corvette, which was named "The Glory of X'Hal" crossed Neptune's orbit, still travelling faster than light. They would be ready to drop out of Warp in just a few minutes and insert into a low Earth orbit, at the coordinates Raven gave her. The ship crossed other orbits: Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter, passing close enough to the Jovian gas giant to see it with the naked eye. A few minutes later they crossed Mars' orbit. Next stop: Earth.

Starfire carefully checked her trajectory. The plan was to come out of warp at an angle that would make it appear as if they were attempting to leave Earth, as opposed to arriving. Jordan would allow them to slip past him to complete the deception.

The ship came out of Warp as planned, with a trajectory that looked as if the ship was rising from the planet's surface. Within seconds the ship shuddered and came to a sudden halt, as it became engulfed in an emerald colored energy field. A glowing humanoid figure approached the ship. The Green Lantern was enormous, even bigger than Galfore, and he had a face that vaguely resembled that of the Earthly creature known as the pig.

The Lantern continued to approach the ship and stopped in front of it, hovering with his arms crossed. Starfire recognized him. He was a close friend of Hal Jordan and his name was Kilowog.

"You know better than trying to escape from Earth." He winked as the conversation was carried over a com-link. "At least now everyone knows that the famous Starfire of Tamaran has been on Earth this entire time."

Using his ring of power, Kilowog towed Starfire's ship down to the surface and the landed near an ordinary looking weather station on the outskirts of Metropolis.

"I'm afraid I'll have to confiscate your ship." He announced in a very official voice. "It will be returned to you once the blockade is lifted."

His ring suddenly stopped shimmering.

"Wait here, Raven will come to get you in a few minutes." He looked at his ring and looked back at her. "Good Luck, Princess."

Kilowog's ring shimmered back to life and he took to the sky, towing the Sunfire corvette behind him. Within seconds he had vanished into the night time sky.

Starfire looked around and took in the desolate landscape.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Is daddy here?"

Starfire picked her daughter up.

"No, he is not."

A dark portal suddenly opened. Raven's head popped out of the void and an arm did.

"Hurry, before anyone sees us."

The princess took Raven's hand and the two Tamaranians stepped through the portal and found themselves in the Logan's Spartan quarters. Starfire's eyes trembled and she wrapped her arms around her violet haired friend.

"Oh Raven, I feared I would never see you again."

Raven hugged her back. "I was worried too."

Nightstar drifted over to the bassinet and peeked at its contents.

"Baby Coraline is asleep." She whispered.

Starfire released Raven and delicately tiptoed to the bassinet. She broke into a huge smile upon seeing the sleeping infant.

"Raven … she is so beautiful. She looks like you."

"Nuh uh!" Nightstar interrupted. "She has green hair like Uncle Garfield."

The sorceress allowed a small smile to appear on her face. "Thank you, Starfire. And yes, she does have green hair, just like her father."

"Does she have any powers?"

Raven shrugged. "It's too soon to tell. Gar said that he can later test if she can shape shift."

"Can she do magic?" The little princess asked.

"Well, that requires a great deal of mental ability and she's still an infant. I have sensed a magical aura about her, but I can't tell at this point how it will develop. But I'm not concerned about that now."

Starfire nodded. "Yes, we have a world to save."

"I'm afraid there is nothing we can do to help in that regard. It's in Gar's and the other scientists' hands now, I'm afraid … but you need to find your husband."

"I must leave. You will take care of Mar'i for us? If we do not return, promise me …"

"Starfire, you know that would raise her as if she was own. But it won't come to that." Raven placed a hand on Starfire's midsection. "The three of you will return, safe and sound." Starfire placed her hand over Raven's.

"I am not showing yet."

"You will be soon."

"I wish I could heal the way you do."

"I wish everyone could."

Starfire looked troubled. "Do we have any idea of where he is?"

"Just that he isn't in Africa anymore. All I can assume is that they are being returned to the USA. I have no idea of where. Batman will notify us if they are delivered to Gotham."

"Cyborg will do the same?"

"If they're delivered to Titans East Tower? I don't know, I haven't been able to reach the Tower via regular communication lines and my Titans communicator doesn't work down here underground. Do you still have yours?"

"No, it was taken from me by the Brotherhood of Evil."

"Take mine, and try to reach Cyborg. Maybe he knows where Richard is."

The princess, who was attired in her full bodied, armored suit, took the communicator and tucked it in her belt.

"It is time for me to go."

Raven conjured a portal. "This will take you to the outskirts of Steele City. Be careful, Starfire, we have been hearing rumors that the general population is becoming unfriendly to superheroes, especially former Titans."

Starfire picked up her daughter and hugged her. "I will return with your father."

The child began to weep. "That's what you and daddy said last time, but you didn't come back."

"They did come back, they were just a bit late, that's all." Raven consoled the child. "And I need you to help me take care of Coraline, plus there's someone else I need you to help me with."

Raven closed the portal. "Starfire, you need to see this too."

She led them into their bedroom, where Mark was also sleeping. Starfire became wide eyed.

"Is this …"

"Yes, this is Mark Logan, Gar's illegitimate child with Alexa Pontone."

Starfire heaved a weary sigh. "I had only heard about the child … but to see him … he looks like his father. And you are caring for him?"

"I know, who would have thought I would get stuck doing this?"

"You do not hate the child?"

"I severely dislike his mother, but not the boy. He is so much like Gar … how could I hate him?"

"Yes, I understand." She turned to her daughter. "Mar'i, you will stay with your Aunt Raven and help with the children until we return. This is an important job for you. I can count on you to do this … yes?"

Mar'i nodded, while a stray tear dripped down her cheek. "Yes, Mommy, I'll be good and help."

Starfire gave her daughter a fierce hug. "You are very brave, my child. Someday you will be a great warrior."

Starfire released her daughter and nodded at Raven, who once again summoned the portal. The two friends shared a hug. "Go find him, Starfire. We'll be here waiting."

Without looking back the Princess stepped into the portal and vanished.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The Osprey jet took off from the British aircraft carrier, ferrying its two passengers to their final destination.

"Captain! What's our ETA?" Batgirl shouted.

"We'll have you on the rooftop of Titans Tower in Steele City in 40 minutes, ma'am." The pilot replied.

Nightwing didn't seem to be present and his mind began to wander. He was feeling helpless, which was a feeling he wasn't accustomed to experiencing. The plague was careening out of control, meaning that there were only weeks left before everyone would start dying which would be followed by the Earth being cast into the Sun. Stopping the spread of the deadly virus was beyond his abilities as a superhero and he was feel emasculated and useless.

He and Babs were seated behind the aircraft's pilots and they could see the bright blue sky outside through the canopy. The clouds below them were bright and puffy, as if they were unaware of the terrible fate that awaited them. Grayson sighed.

"You OK?" Babs asked him.

"At least they're safe." He whispered to her.

"Yeah, you did the right thing. I know it must have been the toughest decision you ever made."

"I know, and I miss them … I feel so alone."

Babs took his hand and squeezed it. "You aren't alone … I'm here."

The jet continued to fly and they sat together in silence, hand in hand. After about thirty minutes they could see the shoreline in the distance and Dick was able to discern the Tower's outline. He squeezed her hand and she turned towards him.

"Babs … I just want to tell you I'm sorry."

"You don't have to; I forgave you for leaving a long time ago."

"I know you, but I'm still sorry."

"Don't be, you married a great girl, heck even though I lost you to her, I think the world of Starfire. She's one awesome lady."

"We both know I'll never see her again. In three weeks, we're all going to be dead."

"Three weeks … it isn't a lot of time."

"It's not … Babs … I'd like to make it up to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Babs, do you think it would be wrong for us to pick up where we left off?"

Barbara locked eyes with him. "Under normal circumstances I would say that it would be both wonderful and terrible to do that."

"Yeah, I agree, but these aren't normal circumstances, are they?"

She dropped her head, her chin resting on her chest.

"No, they certainly aren't."

"So, what you think?" He asked her.

"Dick … do you believe in the afterlife?"

He stared at the approaching coastline. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Will you be OK, facing her there? What would you tell her? I mean, I expect that she would know."

He frowned as he processed the scenario.

"I'd like to think that she would understand. Do you think I'm crazy?"

"I don't know her that well to say. … You know, maybe this is it. Once we die, we're gone. End of story. We don't have to give an account of our actions to anyone … except ourselves. Would you be OK with that? Would you be able to die in peace knowing that you cheated on her?"

"It wouldn't be a cheat … you were my first girl."

"And you promised her to forsake all others when you married her."

"Actually … I didn't. We didn't have a Church wedding. Star insists that serves no god or goddess other than X'hal. We had a simple civil ceremony. There were no vows exchanged, we just agreed to be married."

"The vow is implied, and you know it."

"So, you're saying that you're not interested?" He asked.

"I never said that. Dick, when you left for Jump, I was heartbroken. I know that we were just teenagers, but I was really in love with you."

"You were? I mean, you really were?"

"Yeah, and I still am. Do you really think I'm not interested in picking up where we left off?"

"I just wanted to be sure, you know, before moving forward."

"Dick, if we do this … we're compromising ourselves. There are no ifs or buts about it. This is a decision to not take or make lightly. It might only be three weeks, but it will redefine who we are and what we stand for … are you willing to do that? Because if you are … then so am I."

"Babs …"

The Osprey was approaching the Tower roof. It slowed to a hover, preparing to land. The pilot spoke into his headset and a portion of the rooftop armor retracted, exposing the landing bay.

"Now I'm not so sure anymore. On second thought, forget I said anything." He remarked in a monotone

The jet descended into the landing bay and landed next to the blue T-Ship. The bay doors above slid shut, and the armor deployed, making its clickety clack sound as it covered the roof.

Babs smiled as she pointed out of the cockpit. "Good choice, Bird Boy … consider it forgotten."

Grayson's eyes almost popped out of his head. Cyborg and Bumblebee had come to the hangar to greet them. And standing next to them was … Starfire, who smiled before flying up to the just opened hatch, zooming inside the aircraft. She leaped on her husband, wrapping her arms and legs around him.

"Star? What are you doing here?"

Babs smiled as she exited the plane. Cyborg extended a hand to her and the shook.

"Well hello, little lady, I don't believe we've ever met." He greeted her.

"I'm Batgirl … but you can call me Babs."

_**-( scene break )-**_

So, should Raven have broken Matt's legs or something?

And the reviews, they continue to amaze and astound me. Thanks! We should be blowing past the 900 review mark. Thanks!

And, I'm skipping the mail bag today, so I can post this extra pronto!


	34. Two Lovers

The Princess smothered her husband in deep, passionate kisses. Nightwing's face had yet to recover from the shock of seeing her not only in the Tower, but anywhere on Earth for that matter. His eyes darted around the room and he was able to see the happy and approving looks on his teammates' faces, until he saw Babs, who had her hands on her shapely hips and a mischievous smirk on her face, which seemed to scream "I told you so."

Cyborg stepped forward and tapped Starfire on her shoulder. "I know you're excited to see him, little lady, but can I have a quick word with your man?" He asked with a huge smile.

Starfire loosened her vise like hug on her spouse. "Very well, but only for a moment, as I wish to celebrate my reunion with him … in private."

"Once I'm done with him, Star, he's all yours. I even have a room you guys can use."

Starfire beamed happily as she released her masked man and stepped aside. Cyborg was still grinning as he approached his teammate and leaned forward, with his arms behind his back.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!? NOBODY KNEW! NOT EVEN BATS! WE WERE ALL WORRIED SICK! WOULD IT HAVE REALLY KILLED YOU TO LET US KNOW YOU WERE OK!?"

Grayson had a shell shocked look on his face and was unable to reply. Fortunately for him, Babs came to the rescue. "It was the UN's decision, not ours, to maintain radio silence until we got home."

"And why was that?" Cyborg asked in a now calmer though still edgy voice.

"Uh … the crowd outside?" She asked rhetorically.

"They told us about the Godfrey and Slade's bounty." Nightwing gestured at the Osprey in the hangar.

The jet's pilot stepped forward. "If it's all the same with you folks, we'd like to leave now."

"You might want to stay, Major. They have a BFG-9000 out there. A direct hit and you'd be toast." Bumblebee informed him.

"A BFG-9000? How the hell did they get their hands on one of those?"

"It must have been Slade." Cyborg grumbled. "Who else would have one?"

"Are you finished with the yelling?" Starfire asked.

"Sorry Star, yeah he's all yours now."

Without saying another word she grabbed Nightwing and flung him over her shoulder, so that he was hanging head down with his butt sticking up. She then took off flying with him still flopped over her shoulder.

"It's room 714!" Bumblebee shouted as the couple vanished down the hallway.

"Huh! Someone's getting laid tonight." Cyborg muttered to himself.

"Don't be jealous, Sparky. If you want some, just ask." She winked at him. "You know I never have a headache, right?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Once inside the privacy of the bedroom she put him down and slammed him into the wall. Even though he was wearing his costume the impact hurt, though he did not betray his discomfort. Her eyes were solid green and her irises had vanished. She was breathing in that unique, rhythmic way she always did when she wanted him.

"Kory …"

She covered his mouth with her hand.

"Do not speak … just do." She growled at him in a dangerous yet sultry voice.

She removed her hand and kissed him. He felt his legs go rubbery. She could kiss, oh could she ever. Part of him just wanted to surrender. She easily exteriorized sweet innocence, but he knew better. She knew how to bring out the animal in him, even under ordinary circumstances. He had missed her so much, and until just a few minutes ago feared he would never see her again and he could feel his primal self swell within his chest.

He knew that part of the equation was her alien pheromones. She always released them for him and for that he was grateful. He wasn't an "experienced" lover, but he knew that Star was special. Every time they were intimate it was so powerful that he would scream in delicious agony and felt as if he was going to die. Babs was good, but she never made him feel that way. And he had been longing for Kory's touch, just one more time, before he died. In fact, he would have gladly given his life to experience her one last time. She really was that good.

And that's why it was so hard to do what he did next: he pushed her away.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He shouted at her.

She grabbed his Nomex costume with both her hands and lifting him like a rag doll she slammed him into the wall again.

"I came for you!"

"That wasn't the plan!"

"I changed the plan!" She snarled at him before pulling his shirt off.

"You did what? Without consulting me?"

"I do not need to consult with you, you are mine and I came for you!"

He shook his head in dismay.

"How did you even get past the blockade? Didn't the Green Lanterns stop you?"

"Raven arranged it with the Lantern named Jordan."

Starfire ripped his mask off and tossed it aside. He looked furious. "I should have known that she was behind this. And Hal too. Wait … you did leave Mar'i with Galfore on Tamaran, right?"

"I could not; my sister was trying to corrupt her. I will deal with Blackfire when this ordeal is over."

"What!? You mean our daughter is here on Earth too!"

"I left her in Raven's care, she is perfectly safe. And Raven has given birth. Coraline is a beautiful child."

"Safe? Star, we lost control of the pandemic, it's beginning to spread around the globe. Unless Beast Boy and the other scientists can find a cure immediately, Earth is lost. You and Mar'i have returned here just to die."

"I have not lost hope in our friends."

"And what if they fail?"

Starfire tensed up and looked away from him. "Raven has an escape plan."

"You mean that we would bail and leave the world to die?"

"There is nothing you or I can do to save the Earth. If it comes to the point where Earth will be destroyed, then we must escape."

"But that's … cowardly."

"The human race must be preserved. Raven says that she can circumvent the blockade and transport hundreds of uninfected people to another dimension, where we would prepare to re-establish the human race on another world."

"Raven's Ark? Who would have thought?"

"She has always been very clever."

He sat down on the edge of the bed in the room. "I understand what you're saying … I just can't cope with the idea that we can't save the Earth. We've saved it so many times before."

"This time, there is no villain to defeat. It is just a virus. It does not think or feel, it just fulfills its genetic function. We cannot defeat it with bird-a-rangs or star bolts."

She saw the frustration in his eyes and sat down next to him.

"I hate being helpless. The idea of running away bothers me, even if it is to prevent humanity's extinction. I feel like a failure."

She cupped his face with her palm, making him face her.

"Richard John Grayson … you are not now, nor have ever been, a failure."

He gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, it's good to know that you still believe in me."

"I will never stop believing in you."

She took his hand. "Let us not worry about the problems of the world, at least not right now." Her eyes began to glow and he could smell the torrent of pheromones she was secreting into the air. He suddenly felt a primal arousal course through his body and felt his own manhood swell in size. He began to breathe very deeply and heavily.

"Star?"

"Yes?" She seemed to purr at him like a cat.

"I think we have some unfinished business."

"Then … let us finish it."

Years later, when reminiscing in his old age, he always agreed with himself that was the best roll in the hay they ever had. And they had plenty that were outright fantastic.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Galfore looked at the empty chair out of the corner of his eye. Her absence did not go unnoticed by anyone. It was true, during the last council meeting she had been shot down for her request to re-banish her sister, but that was not an excuse to shirk her duty on the council. As the handouts for the meeting, which that day would cover proposed treaties with other worlds, were being distributed by an attractive clerk who was dressed only in what on Earth would have been considered a skimpy bikini, Galfore beckoned one of the guards to approach.

"Find the princess, and tell her that I expect her to …"

Galfore's tirade was interrupted by a senior palace guard who burst into the council chambers unannounced. Galfore narrowed his eyes, as he felt the displeasure of being interrupted swell in his chest. The senior guard approached him and leaned over, whispering confidentially into his ear.

"Grand Ruler … there has been an incident with Princess Kommand'r"

"What kind of incident?" Galfore growled.

"Perhaps it would be best if you saw it in person."

Galfore gestured at General Kessa'd, who followed him out of the council chamber.

"I will return soon."

The three men filed out of the chamber.

"What happened that you wouldn't tell me in the presence of the council?"

"Forgive me, Grand Ruler, but I felt that discretion was appropriate."

"You still haven't told me what happened to Kommand'r?"

The guard shrunk back, bracing himself to deliver the bad news.

"The Princess, I am afraid she has been murdered."

Galfore froze, every muscle in his massive body tensed up. His face exploded in surprise and shock.

"You are certain of this?"

"Yes, sir, we found her body in her room."

Galfore resumed walking, this time at a brisk pace. He then stopped in his tracks.

"Has any seen Princess Koriand'r?"

The guard shook his head. "No one has seen her. We are currently searching for her."

Galfore's heart sank. "How did this happen?"

"Perhaps it is best if you see for yourself, Grand Ruler."

Galfore nodded and he resumed walking. General Kessa'd was next to him. As though he could the former Knorfka's mind, he asked him the question.

"Galfore, you do not believe that this was Koriand'r's doing?"

The Grand Ruler grimaced.

"I have failed her, Kessa'd. I should never have allowed her to return to Earth with those human juveniles. Earth is a wild and violent world, my friend. Humans might be feeble, but they are vicious. She has been corrupted by them and it is all my fault."

"But Galfore … would she murder her sister?"

"You saw how she reacted at the meeting. She wanted Kommand'r banished without a reason."

"I still think that is a big leap, from banishment to murder."

"It is the human way, General. Do you have any idea of how many murders are committed on Earth?"

"I suppose they are as numerous as the stars in the sky … but Koriand'r isn't human."

Before Galfore could reply they reached the room. The door was guarded by two armed sentinels, who parted and allowed the visitors to enter. Blackfire was still where she collapsed, crumpled like an old rag doll on the floor. The Grand Ruler slowly approached her corpse and knelt down next to her.

Her eyes were still open and with his massive fingers he gently closed them. It was then that he noticed the hole in her chest. It was about four inches in diameter and the tissue around the wound was seared.

"This was blaster shot. A star bolt could not have done this."

"Yes sir, we know that it was not the Princess who murdered her." The senior guard replied.

"That is a relief. We must find the criminal who committed this vile crime. This evildoer must not escape from Tamaran!"

"We have already found him, Grand Ruler."

"Excellent! Bring him to me, I wish to speak with him, and then I kill him with my own hands!"

"I am afraid that won't be possible, sir."

"I said I wish to see him now!"

The senior guard nodded at another man, who took a few steps and stopped next to what looked like a crumpled blanket on the floor and pickedt it up. Galfore frowned when he saw the second corpse, which was missing most of its head.

"We have already identified him, my lord. He is Frassa'd."

"The Princess's lover?"

"Yes sir. We believe that this was a murder suicide, we estimate thar it happened about 8 hours ago … her chambermaid discovered the bodie . The size of their wounds fit in perfectly with the distance between them. The princess was shot in the back and he shot himself in the head after killing her."

Galfore winced upon hearing the explanation. "This is a dark day for Tamaran. Did he leave a note?"

"No sir, he did not."

"Then we will never know why he did it. The only good news is that this exonerates Koriand'r from any wrongdoing … we need to locate her and share this grisly news. She was not close to her sister, but she will mourn her death nonetheless."

The room fell quiet as Galfore returned to Blackfire's side and caressed her face with his index finger.

"You may take her now. We will have to prepare a Royal funeral for her." The Grand Ruler commanded in a somber voice.

"And Frassa'd?" The general asked.

"Throw his body into the vermin pit. And inform his family of his treason before it is made public knowledge."

Kessa'd bowed to the Grand Ruler as another man entered Blackfire's room. It was Galfore's personal aid, an old friend, a commoner named Chysyk. He rushed to Galfore's side.

"What is it, my friend?" Galfore asked him.

"Has anyone seen Koriand'r or her daughter?"

"No one has … how did you know she was missing?"

Chysyk sighed. "There has been activity on the secret base. A maintenance crew just arrived at the base … Galfore … the ship … it's gone, it left about 8 hours ago."

"Who took it?"

"The princess's codes were used. It was Koriand'r."

Galfore heaved a frustrated sigh.

"Where she go?"

"She did not record that in the base's log, but based on the warp trail, which is now weak, we believe she might have gone to the Sol star system, though there is only a 30% probability of that."

Galfore bowed his head frowned. "There is no doubt that she has returned to Earth, to be with her mate."

"But Earth is …"

"Under quarantine, guarded by the Green Lantern Corps and will soon be destroyed. We are now back to our original problem, my friend."

"We must extract her from Earth, before it is too late. But Galfore, that means war with the Lanterns."

"I know, it is a war we cannot win. But Tamaran cannot lose its last two princesses. We have to try."

"It will be difficult."

"That it will, but we will show the Lanterns what Tamaran and Tamaranians are made of."

Kessa'd overheard the conversation and snapped to attention. "What are your orders, Grand Ruler?"

"Have every available warrior report for duty and prepare the fleet. We are going to war, General."

Kessa'd bowed again. "Yes, Grand Ruler, it shall be as you command."

Galfore, followed by Chysyk, stepped out onto the balcony and he stared into the perpetually dark Tamaranian sky. He quickly found Sol in the firmament. In the past he would frequently gaze at it, always thinking of her.

"Koriand'r, my child … what have you done?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Just minutes after Starfire vanished into Raven's portal; Coraline woke up and began to cry. Nightstar ran to the bassinet, and stared, enraptured at the infant.

"Why is she crying?"

"Well, she's hungry."

"Are you going to feed her?"

"Yes, but I need to check her diaper first."

Raven spread a towel on the bed, then unwrapped the infant from her receiving blanket and placed her on the bed. The gray baby kicked and jerked with her arms and legs while her mother undid her disposable diaper.

"Eww … she pooped. And it stinks." Nightstar scrunched her nose.

Raven calmly cleaned her daughter's bottom, applying all of the expected ointments to prevent a diaper rash before wrapping her up in a fresh nappy.

"It's what babies do. Now it's time to feed her."

Raven sat down on a rocking chair and after exposing one of her breasts she began to nurse her daughter. Mar'i watched in wonder.

"You have big boobies, Aunt Raven."

Raven smiled. "When you have a baby, they get bigger."

"To make the milk for the baby?"

"Exactly. Once Coraline gets older and stops nursing, my breasts will return to their normal size, though Gar won't be happy about that."

"Why would Uncle Gar be not be happy?"

"Uh … never mind, you'll understand when you're older."

Nightstar gave her a puzzled look, which quickly disappeared. The girl gently caressed the infant's face.

"She's so soft … she feels like a peach."

Raven chuckled. "Isn't it amazing Mar'i? We were all once this small."

"Was Mark this small?"

Raven shrugged. "He had to be."

"Did he like to nurse, just like Coraline?"

"Mar'i … this is going to be a bit complicated. Mark is Uncle Gar's son … but he isn't my son. He's Coraline's half brother … he has a different mommy than Coraline does."

The girl looked confused. "Why does he have a different mommy? Why aren't you his mommy?"

"Has your mother explained to you how babies are made?"

The child nodded. "Yes, I know about the man's seed and the mommy's egg coming together."

"Do you know how that happens?"

"Yes, mommy showed me in some books. She says it feels nice to do it."

"It does … Mar'i … long before Gar and I were married, he had a … girlfriend … and … they did what you saw in the book. Mark is their son. They didn't plan on having a baby, and … there are things you can do so you won't have a baby. They did those things … but for some reason it didn't work."

"That was in the book too … it was called contra-something."

"Contraception. People do that now so they can control the number of babies they have, but the thing about contraception is that sometimes it doesn't work. Mark's mommy wasn't planning on having a baby."

"Aunt Raven, why did Uncle Gar share his seed with Mark's mommy?"

Raven sighed. It was true; kids did ask the darnedest questions.

"I'm afraid that you wouldn't understand, and when you're older you'll understand without anyone telling you why. All I can say is that he wishes he hadn't done that."

"Why? Does he hate Mark?"

Raven shook her head. "No, he doesn't hate him, he loves him. It's just that having children with more than one woman can be … tricky. He's my husband, and that makes things … awkward with Mark's mommy."

Nightstar had a sad look on her face. "What's going to happen with Mark?"

"Well … when we're done here at the lab I suppose that he'll go home with his mommy. Gar will see him occasionally, but not very often. Mark and his mommy live in Metropolis, we live in Jump City."

"Mark needs his daddy." The child blurted out. All children need their daddy."

Raven nodded sadly.

"I know he does, but unfortunately, it doesn't always work out the way it should."

The door to the bedroom opened and a sleepy faced Mark emerged. As soon as he saw Nightstar he smiled and ran straight to her.

"Hi!"

"Hi!" She replied.

"Who are you? Are you also my sister?"

"Think of her as a cousin." Raven interjected.

"What's a cousin?"

Raven gave him one of her small smiles. "It's almost like a sister, but not quite."

The boy glanced at the princess. "My name's Mark, what's yours?"

"My name is Mar'i."

"Will you play with me?"

"Uh … sure … what do you want to play?" She asked.

"Playtime will have to wait." Raven interrupted, "It's dinnertime and the dining hall doesn't stay open all night."

"Aunt Raven, what's a dining hall?"

"It's like a restaurant; we don't have kitchens in our apartments, so we all eat in the dining hall, but we have to go at certain times."

Coraline had already fallen asleep and ceased to suckle. Raven carefully detached her. Nightstar covered Mark's eyes with her hands. "You're a boy! You can't peek at Aunt Raven's boobies."

"It's OK, Mar'i." She replied as she covered herself. "There's nothing wrong with seeing a woman's breasts." She then wrapped Coraline up and placed her in a baby sling that she slipped over her shoulders, and then she took Mark's hand.

"Mar'i, you need to stay in the room. You aren't supposed to be here and we need to keep it a secret, at least for now. I will bring some dinner for you back to the room. I'll also bring you some books to read, so wait here until we come back, OK?"

The child nodded. "Yes, Aunt Raven. I'll wait for you."

"You can watch TV while you wait for us."

Raven, Mark and Coraline left and Mari looked around the apartment's tiny living room. It was very Spartan and utilitarian. There was a flatscreen TV on top of a small bookcase, with a small fridge underneath. She opened the fridge and saw that it had a few cans of soda pop. She grabbed one and popped it open. As she took a swig from the can the TV began to chime. The words "Incoming call" flashed on the screen and two buttons appeared: a green one labeled "Accept" and red one labeled "decline". She hesitated for a bit, while the TV continued to chime. She then reached out and touched the green button.

"Uncle Cyborg?"

"Hey kiddo, how are you? Where's your Aunt Raven?"

"She went to the dining hall."

"OK, well guess what?" He grinned. "We found your dad; he's here safe and sound with us and your mom."

"Where is he? I want to see him!"

"Uh, your mom and dad, they were … uh … really tired, so they went to bed. But tomorrow you can come here! Your Aunt Raven can open a portal and you can see them tomorrow."

"Can't I just come now?"

"I need to talk with Raven first, have her call me when she gets back; I got the Tower's phone lines working again, so she can call us now. OK?"

"Yes, Uncle Cyborg."

"Now you'll remember to tell her to call me right away? You won't forget, will you?"

"I'll tell her, I'll tell her!" She squealed in joy.

"OK then, little Princess, we'll be seeing you tomorrow. Bye bye!" He waved at her before the call ended.

Mar'i flitted around the room, spinning like an airborne ballerina.

"Aunt Blackfire was wrong! Mommy does love daddy!"

She paused mid air, as Cyborg's words echoes in her head: "Tell her to call me right away."

She zoomed towards the apartment's door. She carefully peeked out into the corridor and once she saw she was alone she left the apartment. All she saw was more doors to more apartments. She knew what a restaurant looked like and was convinced that none of the doors in the circular hallway led to the infamous "dining hall".

As she continued to search she did see something she recognized: an elevator. Just as she saw it the elevator chimed and its doors opened. A young couple egressed and turning in the direction opposite from her they walked away without seeing her. She levitated and silently glided into the lift. There were several buttons, and their labels gave no clue as to where the dining hall was. She randomly chose a button and pressed it. The doors slid shut.

_**-( scene break )-**_

A pair of robotic hands, inside a sealed room with large glass windows, carefully opened a vial containing the most recent strain of the virus, exposing it to the air. A small rabbit sat nearby in a wire cage, happily munching on some lettuce. One of the robotic hands carefully placed the vial in a stand, after which they retracted back to the "parked" position by the main observation window.

Barbara McCall groaned as she rubbed her temples. Raven's spell clearly worked as she had not slept in days. But she was feeling fatigued nonetheless.

"I need some coffee, with extra caffeine." She muttered to herself.

She got up and headed to the coffee station, where she poured herself a fresh cup. A brand new box of donuts had been delivered and she grabbed a cruller, taking a large bite out of it and washing it down with the coffee. She had a few minutes to kill before she could take a blood sample from the rabbit to see if the serum that had been injected into it earlier would develop some antibodies.

Garfield approached the station and repeated the process, except that he grabbed a maple bar.

"The donuts are good, nice and fresh." She remarked.

"Any luck with the latest serum batch?"

"We'll know in a few minutes." She replied as she reached for a second donut.

"You know how fattening those are, don't you?"

She hesitated for a moment, but grabbed a second one anyway.

"What do you care? … You have an incredible wife, who recovers instantly after childbirth."

"For once, you're right … Raven is the perfect wife."

"There's no such thing as a perfect wife." She grumbled. "I'll bet she's frigid, isn't she?"

"That's a bet you'd lose … c'mon, let's check on the experiment."

McCall sat back down in front of the controls for the robotic arms, which she reactivated. Gar was refilling his coffee mug when he heard McCall shriek.

"There's a child in the containment chamber!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

And we have another cliff hanger!

And now, it's mailbag time! I know, I stiffed you guys last time. But not today! Also, I'm surprised that only one reader got the reference to the BFG-9000, so I used it again.

Also, I will focus more on this story, updating Carved in Stone less frequently. It's a lot harder to switch back and forth between stories than you might think.

And in other news: Next week is the Terra episode in the new show. I'm not a big fan of the new show, however it is rumored that Raven will get jealous and will finally tell BB how she really feels about him. That said, given this show's track record, that won't happen and the episode will be a dud.

Notabotipromise – Wow! I went to the head of the line? I'm touched!

Katt In The Boxx – And Alexa was again absent, though Raven did refer to her.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast - I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but I actually work with a guy who's a swinger. His wife is cute, not sure if she also swings, I didn't ask.

Adventuresstime - He was a little upset at first, but she brought him around to his way of thinking.

Bluedog197 – Nightwing stared into the abyss and it stared back at him. He did come close to blowing it. Should he ever tell Starfire? Or should he bury it, since nothing happened?

EP - It certainly was tempting to have her send him away, maybe to a dimension where everything itches?

TW – I've met a few swingers along the way. Most are very confident in their prowess.

Bri – Thanks!

Me – Thanks to you too!

Soulsurfer2112 – I hope you liked it

Death Stroke The Kid – You were being paranoid

Randamwriter - Definitely a close shave!

JasonVUK – Yeah, she could go hydra on him

Ubiytsa – I'll bet my first story wasn't better. And you can't see it, because I deleted it a long time ago.

Shadico – I know … I'm evil! Bwhahaha!

gabylokita41 – I think that a cheat would be a terrible burden to carry. He's going to feel bad enough about being tempted.

BartWLewis – Except that Matt isn't a supervillain, so she would restrain herself … sort of.

Angelic Demon - Raven will get a last laugh at Matt's expense.

JOHNXgambit – I'm thinking that Matt has given up on Raven is looking for his next conquest.

Chayse-man - And it's only getting worse!

Wolf of IndigoRiver – I've always found Grayson to be smug and arrogant, unlike Robin #3, Tim Drake. As for Matt, he came dangerously close to provoking Raven.

The Cretin – Thanks, I wanted the NW/BG moment to be believable. They both wanted to give in, but Babs did remind him of how much he was giving up if they did.

titanfan45 – You played Doom also? By today's standards it was primitive, but it was fun to play! What would you do if you could get your hands on a BFG-9000? Would you shoot it at something? I still have the floppies somewhere in the basement. Maybe I can sell them someday as a collector's item.

DeeThom – She has far too much self discipline. As far as I remember, Terra was the only one on the show who ever made Raven lose her cool, in the mud pit.

mlbv-grimm – Thanks!

Lover of A Good Story - That would have hurt!

Ice Cream Queen Zshi – We seem to have a consensus on this

TheDarkChangeling – Apparently Mar'i's job is to get into BIG trouble!

krostovikraven1 – He did change his mind before he knew Starfire was there, but just barely in time.

Anoymous136 - If there is anyone I like in the comics, it's Babs, both as Oracle and as Batgirl. She's smart, sexy and kicks butt!

Dragonkyng – Or maybe Cyborg could show up and kick his sorry ass. If you want to see what Godfrey is like, look him up on youtube.


	35. Donuts

Once again the giant holographic globes floated in the Grand Hall. Both rotated slowly while tactical military personnel tapped away on their data pads. Both spheres would constantly update, reflecting the ever changing tactical situation.

The sphere that represented Tamaran was mostly white; with the odd swirl shaped colors on its surface that made it look like jawbreaker, at least to human observers. Tamaranians had no such candy. Red dots representing Sunfire corvettes would rise from the surface and take their place in equatorial orbit.

Today there was difference from the last time the Tamaranian prepared for war. Over two dozen heavy cruisers, which had been recalled from their deep space missions, guarding the Vega system from any Gordanian intrusions, had been summoned home the last time and were now also orbiting Tamaran. They were cigar shaped and about a kilometer long each. It was that a single X'hal class cruiser could take on over a dozen Gordanian battle cruisers, though that had yet to be verified on the battlefield. What was really on Galfore's and Kessa'd's minds was how the ships would fare against one hundred Green Lanterns.

The other sphere represented Earth. The last known positions of the Green Lanterns and other blockading vessels were also represented by dots, which orbited the planet, with the Lanterns floating in geosynchronous orbits while the blockade observers occupied various orbital planes, most being past the moon's own orbit. One of the observer vessels flashed in a deep red tone. It was Trogaar's new ship.

Galfore was seated at his throne, observing all that happened in the massive hall. General Kessa'd stood next to him.

"We will take out the Gordanian ship as we approach Earth." Galfore growled. "I have not forgotten what they did to Koriand'r."

"I will assign my best Sunfire squadron to take it down. The Princess will be avenged."

"Once we get past the Lanterns we should find minimal opposition on Earth. The humans are technologically backward … did you ever see the pitiful ship in which they brought Koriand'r home, when she was betrothed to that disgusting sclurch?"

"I remember it well, Grand Ruler. It was a toy. It's amazing they did not perish when they were attacked upon approaching Tamaran."

"They almost were destroyed … what do you know about Earth, General?"

"Its surface is comprised mostly of oceans and it has two larger landmasses and two smaller ones, one of which is located in the southern polar region. Most of the larger urban areas are located along the coastlines."

"Do you have a strategy, General?"

"I do. We will have the heavy cruisers engage the Lanterns. Our Sunfire squadrons will slip past the blockade and descend to Earth's surface. Once they do, they will have limited time until a Lantern pursues them."

"Yes, General, they will need to be swift. Have you selected the targets where to search for the Princesses?"

Kessa'd tapped on his data pad. Three flashing dots appeared on the Earth's surface. Galfore furrowed his brow as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Those are good choices, General. She is almost certain to be in one of those locations. When will the fleet be ready?"

"We will be ready to depart in 4 hours, my Lord."

"Good … make it so, General. And prepare my personal corvette … I will be coming to Earth as well."

"As you wish, Grand Ruler."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Titans Tower, Jump City …_

"This sucks, this totally blows."

"I agree, Connor, but we have our orders." Wally remarked in a less than enthusiastic tone.

The half Kryptonian crossed his muscular arms over the famous "S" shield on his black T-shirt.

"The whole city is rioting. We should be out there, doing something."

"And what would that be?"

"I don't know." Superboy flailed his arms.

"Exactly."

"So that's it? While Jump City burns to the ground, the Teen Titans just sit on their butts and do nothing?"

"You're still scrubs, you aren't Teen Titans yet, which is why we take our orders from Cyborg. And if he says that we barricade ourselves in the Tower, then that's what we do."

"I'm not afraid of Slade's bounty."

"That's not the point. Of course we aren't afraid. But we have our orders." Wally reminded him.

"Well … our orders suck."

"They do, but they still stand."

"Arggh! I can't stand this hiding and pussyfooting around … I just wish something would happen!"

"Careful what you wish for Connor. You never know when you'll get it."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The dining hall seemed emptier than usual, which wasn't surprising as meals were being sent directly to the lab and the only diners were the support personnel, who were not required to work around the clock.

An air of despair permeated the hall. The news that the virus was slowly but steadily spreading to the four corners of the Earth was now hardly a secret, and it was clearly reflected in the demeanor of all those present. Raven, being the empath that she was, could hardly push back against the ocean of unhappy thoughts. She noticed that Matt McCall was seated at a table in a far corner, calmly chatting with a pretty young woman. She too was able to sense his emotions, which were very target towards the shapely young woman. Feeling disgusted with what she was sensing from Matt, she raised a mental barrier and blocked out all emotions.

_Is that all he can think about? At least he isn't hitting on me anymore, thank Azar for small favors._

There was no line where the food was served. Raven decided that she didn't wish to eat in the dining hall, and instructed that she wanted everything in to go containers. She asked for an extra meal and the server didn't even blink an eye as she filled another Styrofoam container with meatloaf, potatoes, green beans and gravy, placing it in a large plastic bag. She also, without being asked, placed a whole boxed apple pie into the bag which she handed to the sorceress.

"Aunt Raven, did you get some dinner for Mar'i?" The green child asked.

Raven shushed him. "Yes, I did, now let's go to the library and …"

Her discourse was interrupted by a shrill alarm, which she immediately recognized … someone had been accidentally exposed to the virus.

Her first instinct was to reach out to him. She lowered her barriers and a torrent of emotions flooded over her psyche, blinding her mind. They were, as she expected, turbulent and wild. She rapidly sifted through them until she found him. Gar was scared and concerned, but he did not fear for his life.

Raven heaved a sigh of relief. Were he to become infected and if no cure was found, she would have to leave him behind when they escaped to the sanctuary in another dimension. The very thought of that made her windpipe constrict and her heart rate speed up. Losing him was not a scenario she cared to contemplate.

As Raven relaxed she sensed another voice in the crowd, one that was familiar but also didn't belong.

Raven gasped when she recognized the owner of the stray emotions, which exuded fear. She dropped the bag with the takeaway dinners, which fell to the floor and splattered.

"No!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

"There's a child in the containment chamber!"

Gar hastily put his coffee mug down on the counter, spilling some of its contents in the process, before rushing to McCall's workstation. He skidded to a halt in front of the large window and felt his mouth go dry. Other lab personnel arrived at the scene and stared in utter disbelief at the scene before them.

The crowd began to murmur.

"How did she get in?" An anonymous voice asked.

"Wasn't the airlock be secured?"

"Who is she? I've never seen her before."

"Beats me, neither have I."

"She's been exposed to the virus!"

"We need to get her into a stasis chamber, pronto … where's Dr. Logan?"

Mar'i looked as if she was ready to cry. A pair of blue starbolts began to form around her hands. Beast Boy pushed his way forward to the workstation, where he grabbed a microphone. After pressing the push to talk button, he gently spoke into the microphone in a calm and soothing voice.

"Mar'i, you need to put your star bolts away. You could hurt someone with them."

"Did he say starbolts?" Another voice asked.

"She's gonna breach the chamber!" Alexa shouted. "Everyone, get out of here."

The crowd didn't need to be told twice and it stampeded out of the room.

Gar remained at the station with the mike in his hand. "You can do it, Mar'i, put the starbolts away."

"I'm scared Uncle Gar."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

Her starbolts shrank until the finally disapperared.

"That's my girl, I knew you could do it."

"Who is this child?" Alexa hissed at him. "I've never seen her before and she isn't on the roster. And why does she know you?"

Gar sighed. "She's Starfire's daughter. Her name is Mar'i."

"And how did she get into my lab?"

"I have no idea why she's here. She's supposed to be on Tamaran with her mother."

"So you're telling me that his child flew from the Vega system to Earth, evaded the Green Lantern blockage and somehow was able to slip past our security system and get into our facility."

"I don't know how she got here, but I suspect Raven knows. I haven't seen her in two days."

"Gar, do you have any idea of how disruptive this is? Get her into a stasis tube before she becomes ill."

He shook his head. "I'm not sure we can do that."

"What are you talking about?"

Nightstar began to whimper. "Uncle Gar, I want to get out of here. I was looking for Aunt Raven. She left me in the room and Uncle Cyborg called and said it was important."

"She's only half human; the stasis tubes are set up for humans. I'll need to adjust it for her."

"Then what are you waiting for? Get to it!"

"Relax, she's my responsibility."

"You'd better believe it, pal. Once you've tucked her away, you and I are having a talk. But first I'm having a heart to heart with your wife."

"Bad idea, you aren't exactly her favorite person in the world."

"I'll be the judge of that." Alexa seethed as she headed for the exit. "When I get back, she'd better be in a stasis tube or there's gonna be hell to pay."

"Are you threatening me?" He growled at her in a guttural tone.

"Just do your damn job!" She howled as she slammed shut the lab door, which sealed airtight with a hissing sound.

Gar's shoulders slumped. He remembered that Nightstar was in the chamber and turned to face her. He did his best to form a reassuring smile.

"Mar'i? I need to take a blood sample from you."

"What's a blood sample?"

"It means that I will have to stick in needle into your arm, and take just a teensy bit of blood."

"I don't like needles, Uncle Gar. Why do you need my blood?"

"I need to check if you're sick. And if you are, you'll need to sleep in a special tube until we can make some medicine to make you better. Mar'i, I know you're a brave girl, right?"

She nodded slowly and without any real conviction.

"I'm going to put on a special suit and come into the room to take your blood sample. I have to go put it on, but I'll be right back. You promise to wait for me right where you are? You can't leave that room, understand? It's really important that you stay there."

Again she nodded.

"Good, I'll be right back." He said before hurrying out a

Nightstar waited patiently for what felt like a small eternity, until the door reopened and what looked like an astronaut in a space suit entered the room, and he was carrying a small briefcase. He made his way to the airlock and after passing through the two doors he was in the chamber. Nightstar stared at him, dumbfounded.

"You're wondering about the suit, right? Mar'i, there are some germs in this room that could make me get really sick and I don't want that. I think they can't make you sick, but I need to check before we let you come out, or you would make everyone sick." He opened his case.

"I don't feel sick."

"I know, it's too soon for you to feel sick. That's why I have to check your blood for germs. I also need to check your body chemistry. If you are sick you'll need to sleep in a stasis tube, but since you're Tamaranian I'll need to change the tube."

Mar'i cringed when she saw the needle. "I hate needles too, but you're a brave girl."

Gar quickly took the blood samples, which had an odd orange/red hue. It looked like neither human nor Tamaranian blood.

"Ok, we're done." He reached into his case and gave her a paper bag. "They're donuts. Go ahead and eat them all if you want. I'll be just right outside; we have a special microscope I need to use. It won't take me long, I promise."

The child felt her stomach growl and she sniffed the bag's contents. A small smile appeared on her face as she crammed a chocolate glazed donut into her mouth.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Ignoring the splattered contents of the take out bag, Raven grabbed Mark's hand and the familiar hum of her dark energy was heard. A black hemisphere appeared and engulfed them before sinking into the ground. The half ball of eldritch energy rose moments later from the floor in the small living room in the apartment. Raven immediately noticed that they were not alone.

"If you're looking for the child, she's not here." Alexa fumed. The expression on her face was both stern and angry.

"What are you doing in my apartment? And where is Mar'i?"

"So you did smuggle a child into the facility. I knew you were nothing but trouble the day I met you."

"Where. Is. She?"

"She's in the lab. You left her unsupervised and she wandered off into the lab and exposed herself to the virus." Alexa replied in a voice devoid of any emotion.

"How did she get into the lab without anyone noticing her?"

"We don't watch for stray children, because there aren't supposed to be any! We're working around the clock and we're very focused. Of course you wouldn't understand that, would you, 'Dr. Roth'. What is your PhD in anyway, underwater basket weaving?"

Raven ignored the put down. "You said she was exposed to the virus."

"Yes, and your husband is tending to her, fitting a stasis tube for her, when he should be working on finding a cure … I knew you should've stayed in Jump. You're nothing but trouble."

"I want to see her."

Alexa glared at the sorceress. "Follow me."

They walked to the lift and Alexa pressed the button for lab level 8. The doors closed and the elevator began to descend. The tension in the air was thick.

"You just had to come, you mousy, territorial and possessive harpy. You just couldn't bear the thought of sharing him with anyone."

"I won't even grace that idiotic remark with a response."

"You just did." Alexa smirked.

"I'll give you a response! You've been scheming on getting yours claws on my husband since the day we met. Then you have the gall to call yourself his other wife just because you had a once night stand with him that blew up in your face."

"Ok, so maybe I did screw up, but at least I took ownership of my mistake. You on the other hand, smuggle a child in here. Why didn't you just say that you needed to babysit this girl? You could have had support! She would have been supervised in the daycare and you wouldn't have needed to hide her. Now, because you tried to outsmart me, the child has been infected. And you know what Raven?" Alexa poked her in the chest. "This is your fault. And I don't care if you are a hero with powers, what you did was outrageous and irresponsible. And for the record, I don't want Mark to be around you anymore."

The elevator doors opened before Raven could reply. The scene that greeted them was … unexpected.

The lab staff had returned since Alexa left and what appeared to be a party was underway. People were dancing, hugging and kissing. Barbara McCall was on her knees and weeping. A man had his hands raised as he thanked God.

"What is the meaning of this?" Alexa shouted.

The party stopped and a young woman turned to them, looking deliriously happy.

"Dr. Logan found the cure!" She cried happily. "He's saved the whole world!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Yeah, it was predictable, wasn't it? Detail will be given next chapter. And no, this story is far from over, so hang around. We have some ornery Tamaranians to deal with still, and a few more surprises are in store, so stick around. Also, this story is eclipsing Carved in Stone, so that story will go into hiatus until I finish this one.

And another promise: Once I finished this one, I will republish the original story and finish it as well.

We are approaching the 1000 review mark for this story, and I couldn't have done it without you, my loyal readers. Views are not looking too shabby either; we are already past the 50,000 mark.

What this means of course, is that most of you have chosen to remain lurkers. I would really like to know what you're thinking about this story. What works for you, what doesn't? Drop me a review and let me know.

And now, it's time for the mailbag!

TheBeezKneez – Nope it was Nightstar

punkrocka23 – Which TV Series? Batman the Animated Series or The Batman?

ToraHimeSama - Raven forgets that not all kids were as precociously mature as she was.

TW - They don't like being messed with.

Avamys – The Atlanteans seem to like keeping to themselves. Still, it could make for a good side story.

SuperNolon – You forgot!? How could you!? Just kidding.

Guest – Thanks! And I say that because there is some pretty stiff competition out there. Might I suggest "The Crime of Passion" by Sir Alwick? I personally think that's the best story now.

The Cretin – Indeed, you'd think that for once Nightwing would just shut up and enjoy the ride.

goldenrod51 – Kids really do say the darndest things.

Anoymous136 – Uh … yes!

Me – Thank you!

EP – Hang onto your hat, another plot twist is coming up!

Ubiytsa - Yup, that game is so old I figured most of my younger readers have never played it.

gabylokita41 – I'm evil that way! Beg, reader, beg!

Bluedog197 – I know, I did kill Raven in a couple of my stories, but it should be obvious that the only one who will die in this story is … wait a minute, I can't tell you that!

WishToBeYouSomeday – Too late!

Soulsurfer2112 - I'm planning on it being a boy.

checkit789 - Well, a cure was found.

Adventuresstime - That is high praise. Thank you!

Katie TDC – Poor Alexa! She's just a poor, misunderstood, power hungry, nymphomaniac!

mlbv-grimm - Poor Mar'i, she just wanted to see her father, and went looking for Raven to tell her.

DeeThom - It's been established that they are immune.

Shadico - I aim to please

Fl4mingTurd – Kryalla Orchid has me beat, hands down. When she gets into the groove, she can update daily!

BartWLewis – Well, as you already know now, she was.

Angelic Demon - Mark is still pretty young, and has lived a very sheltered life.

Sweetums14 – This story isn't close to being done.

Randamwriter – Yeah, she'll live

JOHNXgambit – Hmmm … those aren't good odds.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Wolf of IndigoRiver – You are clairvoyant!

krostovikraven1 – As a mom, you are more than familiar with this trait in kids

titanfan45 - Alexa was really chewing her out!


	36. The Halfbreed and the Vaccine

Space, it is a dark and deadly place. Its vacuum makes the blood of most carbon based life forms boil. If they don't die first of asphyxiation the decompression makes their bodies explode. And there is radiation to deal with. Most planets with life have some protection against it. Earth was blessed with a strong magnetic field, which keeps deadly gamma radiation safely tucked away in the Van Allen belts. Mars, Earth's smaller red sister, has a weak magnetic field. Earth is vibrant with life, while Mars is dead.

Such were the rules of the cosmos, though those rules would, on rare occasions, be broken. Such was the case of Tamaran. Like Mars, it had no magnetic field to speak of, and it should have been dead … but it wasn't. Its native life was able to adapt to the incessant bombardment of radiation that fell from Vega in the sky. And some life forms did more than just adapt … they thrived in the radiation. They made it their own, their bodies functioning like batteries, storing prodigious amounts of energy in their persons. Most Tamaranians could tap into this store to achieve flight, while those of royal lineage could weaponize it. They could also survive in the vacuum of space.

Such knowledge was not lost on Lord Trogaar, who paced back and forth across the bridge on his ship. They had detected a lone SunFire class corvette which appeared to be trying to escape from Earth's atmosphere, before being intercepted by the Green Lantern known as Kilowog. Trogaar frowned. The good news was that the Princess and her friends were still on the blue marble known as Earth. The bad news was that there was no way he could get past the Lantern's blockade.

Of course, just because he couldn't physically reach Earth didn't mean he didn't have a presence.

"My Lord!" His communications officer interrupted his train of thought. "We have a secure and secret transmission coming from the planet's surface … it's from our operative."

Trogaar hurried to a door off the starboard side of the bridge. "Patch it to my ready room."

The giant lizard sat down at his desk and a view screen on the wall flickered to life. He suppressed the gag reflex he felt upon seeing the human. They were almost as disgusting looking as Tamaranians, he thought. Their bodies were covered with hair and they sweated. Worst of all, they had a vile stench to them. While he wished to recover the Titans and take them home as a tribute to the Emperor, he would still be glad to see the Green Lanterns hurl the Earth into the sun, and have the mammalian human stain permanently removed from the universe.

"Do you have news for me? Have they been captured?"

The operative concealed his identity from Trogaar by wearing a mask over its ape like face. Why did it even bother with the secrecy? As far as Trogaar was concerned all humans looked the same, which is to say they were horrid and disgusting creatures: vermin which had no place in the galactic community.

"Not yet, but it won't be long now."

"That's what you said on your previous report."

"The Titans have barricaded themselves in their Towers."

"Then why don't you storm these Towers. We were led to believe that you have the resources to capture them."

"And I do … the problem is that two of them remain unaccounted for."

"Which ones?" Trogaar hissed.

"Raven and Beast Boy."

The Gordanian frowned. "You mean the witch who destroyed my ship?"

"And her mate. They have both vanished, and no one seems to know where they are."

"Well, you'd better find them, or our deal is off."

"That's not what you said. You said that you wanted Starfire. I can deliver her."

"If you want safe passage off the planet, you will deliver the five Titans to me, unspoiled."

"And just how will you get us off the planet without the Green Lanterns noticing?"

"Leave that to me. If you value your life, you will capture the Titans … all five of them. Or you will learn just how hot it can get inside of a star!"

Trogaar slammed his scaly fist on a button on the console, terminating the transmission.

"Stupid humans … what a waste of skin."

Trogaar's foul temper was interrupted as the red alert claxons blared and the reptilian voice of his first officer shouted "Battle stations! This is not a drill!" repeatedly. The lizard lord bolted out of his office into the bridge where his crew frantically prepared for the worst. He glared at his first officer.

"What is the status? Why are we in battle stations?"

"A Tamaranian fleet has just dropped out of warp, my Lord."

"You took us to battle stations over a flotilla of Sunfire corvettes?"

The first officer hastily shook her head. "No my Lord, they are X'hal class heavy cruisers!"

Trogaar took position in this command chair and assessed the situation on the holographic tactical display. He snarled at what he saw.

"Those ships are always cruising along the neutral zone … what are they doing here?"

"I do not know my Lord. Perhaps we could ask them?"

Trogaar pulled a firearm from his side and shot his first officer point blank. She shrieked in pain as her body slowly disintegrated, starting in her chest and spreading out until she was fully engulfed. Within seconds she fell silent as her body was completely vaporized. Trogaar casually aimed his weapon at a junior bridge officer. "You! You're my new first officer!"

The young lizard, who held the rank of lieutenant, gulper nervously. "Thank you, my lord. I will immediately figure out why the Tamaranian fleet is here."

The young officer sat down at a tactical station and began to work furiously.

"Well, lieutenant?" Trogaar hissed at him.

"Sir, it appears that Tamaranians, based on their fleet's formation, are preparing to attack the Lanterns."

"The Tamaranians are fools!" Trogaar shouted with glee. "The Green Lantern Corp will destroy their fleet and they will be defenseless against an invasion. We will add Tamaran to the Empire!"

"My Lord … there is more!"

"Speak, lieutenant."

"There's a fleet of Sunfire's arriving. I believe they will try to run through the blockade while the Lanterns engage the heavy cruisers."

"The Tamaranians are audacious, I will give them that. Let them rescue their precious princess, it will be of no consequence as will be able to walk into a defenseless Tamaran."

"My Lord, there is one more thing …"

"Yes?"

"A single heavy cruiser has broken off from the fleet. It is heading straight toward us."

"What did you say?"

"We are being attacked … the cruiser outguns us, we cannot fight it. I have requested assistance from the Green Lanterns, but they declined to help us … my Lord, we must retreat or …"

The young lieutenant never finished speaking as Trogaar shot his head off.

"We will not retreat!" Trogaar shouted.

Fear was evident in everyone's eyes. The now dead lieutenant was right; they were no match for the huge dreadnought that was bearing down on them. The Gordanians had ships that could match X'Hal class cruisers, but they were all far away patrolling the neutral zone that separated Gordania from the star clusters that formed Tamaran's territories.

"Fight, cowards, fight! Fire everything we have at them!"

The Gordanian ship fired its particle beam cannon at the Tamaranian ship, whose neutronium hull easily absorbed the blast.

"Keep firing!" Trogaar shouted.

The Tamaranian ship charged its primary weapon and fired what looked like a giant star bolt. Trogaar's ship shuddered and began to list, its engines now offline, while continuing to fire. The Tamaranian ship fired a second time, taking out the Gordanians weapons array. Trogaar stared defiantly at the tactical display.

"My Lord, the Tamaranians are ordering us to surrender." His communications officer shouted above the din in the bridge as every possible alarm was shrieking.

"It is regrettable that we will not live to witness Gordania's final triumph over Tamaran. Die happy knowing that Tamaran will be ours." Trogaar announced in a calm, melancholic voice. "And tell the Tamaranians to go to hell."

A third giant star bolt emerged from the Tamaranian ship's canon. Upon hitting Trogaar's ship a chain reaction began and within seconds the ship exploded in a green fireball.

Trogaar and his crew were no more.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Jordan, what the hell is this? Why are the Tamaranians attacking us?"

"Isn't it obvious? There's some down there that belongs to them."

Kilowog raised a giant shield, which deflected the monstrous star bolt that was coming straight at him. The emerald barrier shuddered but did not fail.

"They know that Earth is under blockade."

"They're Tamaranians, since when does logic ever enter into the equation with them?" Jordan howled.

"So what do we do?"

Jordan raised his ring to his mouth and shouted into it. "Listen up, everyone, we only want to contain the Tamaranians, not hurt them. Try to disable their ships and tow them to Jupiter. We don't want a massacre on our …"

Jordan's diatribe was interrupted by a huge, green explosion.

_The Gordanian ship, it's been destroyed!_ Another voice shouted through the ring.

_All hands were lost!_ A third voice announced.

Jordan's masked face became grim. While no one would mourn the destruction of the Gordanian ship and the death of Trogaar and his crew, the Tamaranians had crossed the line.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but my hands are tied." He muttered to himself before shouting into his ring.

"Do whatever it takes to keep the Tamaranians away from Earth."

The battle's pitch intensified and while the Tamaranian fleet fought fiercely, it was slowly being decimated by the Green Lanterns.

"We shoulda brought more Lanterns; no one said that we'd have to fight these poozers!" Kilowog complained.

"We have the situation under control." Kyle Rayner chimed in.

As if on cue, thousands of ships jumped into low Earth orbit, dropping out of warp. The Lanterns quickly turned their attention to the insect like swarm of Sunfire corvettes. Unlike the battle cruisers, they were easy to stop, at least individually. But with their hands full they could not stop all of the corvettes and a few dozen were able to descend into the Earth's atmosphere.

"The blockade's been breached!" Jordan shouted. "Whatever else happens, those ships can't leave Earth!"

"I already called for reinforcements." John Stewart shouted back. "They'll be here in a few hours."

"That's not good enough." Rayner replied. "We're on our own!"

"We can't allow the plague to escape from Earth." Kilowog roared.

"Then there's only one thing we can do." A humanoid alien named Boodikka shouted. "We need to throw the Earth into the sun, now!"

"You can't be serious!" Guy Gardner replied.

"Boodikka is right, we have no other choice." A tentacle clad alien named Apros agreed.

"We will not throw the Earth into the sun, not yet!" Jordan commanded his troops.

"Your judgment is clouded Jordan, because Earth is your home. I say we vote on it." Boodikka interjected.

"I'm still in charge!"

"Your leadership has been compromised and I relieve you from it." She replied.

"You can't do that!"

"I can and I have." Boodikka replied. "Let the voting begin!"

It took but a few seconds and Jordan's ring tallied the results: Boodikka had won the vote. She smiled triumphantly as she assumed command and gave her first order. "Destroy the Tamaranian cruisers. Once they are neutralized we will then destroy the Earth. The universe will be kept safe!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

The celebration in the lab continued at full swing. Bottles of champagne were produced and Raven had a glass shoved into her free hand. Without tasting it she set it down on a nearby desk. The lab was in a frenzy, with people milling around, hugging each other while many exchanged kisses. Alexa had already taken Mark away from Raven and was celebrating herself.

Raven looked around frantically; there was no sign of either of them. She reached out with her empathic senses, but there were too many people present and they blinded her with their unbridled joy. She continued to visually scan the room, but came up empty handed. She then saw Barbara McCall nearby using her dark energy she grabbed the woman and reeled her in.

"Where are they?" Raven hissed.

McCall glared at her. "They're in that room!"

Raven released her, tossing her aside.

"You need to get laid more often, Raven. You're wound up way too tight!"

Raven gave the woman a four eyed glare before making her way to the side lab were Gar and Mar'i were supposed to be. Her stomach began to churn. If Gar wasn't out here celebrating it had to be because there was bad news, and it had to be the girl. Raven's mind began to race. Sure, he had found a cure, but Nightstar wasn't human, at least not fully human. She had been exposed to the virus and no doubt Gar was trying to adapt the cure for her unique physiology.

Raven felt a lump form in her throat. How could she have been so foolish? Alexa was right; she should have registered the girl and not have kept her hidden. And leaving her unsupervised? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

_What I am going to tell Starfire and Dick? That their daughter died because of my negligence? Star is going to kill me, and rightly so._

Raven reached the door and paused. She braced herself for what was waiting on the other side. She swallowed hard before pushing the door's open button. The door hissed as its hermetic seal was undone before it slid open.

The first thing Raven saw was Mar'i. She was sitting on a chair … eating donuts. She stopped when she saw Raven and smiled. Raven ran to the child and hugged her.

"Mar'i! Are you OK!?"

"She's fine Rave!" Gar's voice called from a far corner of the room, where he was hunched over a machine.

"She is?"

"She's completely immune, thanks to her Tamaranian half."

Raven dropped to her knees. "Thank Azar! I was so worried when Alexa told me that she had been exposed."

"It's a good thing that she was. Her antibodies are human compatible! I'm preparing samples to send to LuthCorp, Star Labs, Wayne Enterprises and Dayton Industries so they can start manufacturing vaccines. I also need to make a batch for everyone here in the lab."

Raven rose to her feet. Coraline, still sleeping in her sling, stirred, but did not wake.

"So you're saying that my blunder saved the world?"

He smiled as he nodded. "I was going to give you the greatest chewing out of all time. But you're off the hook, Rave."

Raven sat down on a nearby chair, fighting back the tears.

"I can't believe that I was so careless."

"Uh, question … why is Mar'i here?"

She explained to him about Starfire's return and her escape plan.

"You should have told me."

"I was … the next time I saw you. I'm sorry I kept it a secret, I didn't want Alexa to know."

"Speaking of Alexa, where's Mark?"

"She took him, more like she confiscated him from me."

"And you miss him?"

"I hate to admit it, but I do miss him."

Gar sat down next to her and took her hand.

"Rave, if we had gone through with your escape plan, how would we have chosen who got to escape and who didn't?"

"I don't know." She replied in a whisper. "I guess now we'll never find out ... thank Azar."

Nightstar patted Raven on her arm. "Don't be sad Aunt Raven … have a donut!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Robin and Connor sat on the couch, playing video games, trying not to think of the mayhem outside. Just as in Steele City, the Jump City tower was surrounded by all sorts of bounty hunters all armed to the teeth. Conner tossed his controller aside, forfeiting the game to Tim.

"We should just go outside and kick their sorry asses. I know that Cassie feels the same way."

Robin grinned. "So, have you and Cassie been able to … you know … without Jinx knowing?"

"Every time we try, she busts us. That witch has eyes everywhere."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's none of her business. And I can't knock Cassie up anyway, my half Kryptonian DNA is incompatible, so I don't see why she even cares. She used to be a villain; you'd think she'd approve."

"Hey, at least you have a girlfriend."

"What about you and Steph?"

Tim frowned. "Some other dude banged her and knocked her up, and now she isn't interested at all … I'm still a virgin … how does Grayson do it? He's always had women throwing themselves at him. And he married Starfire."

"She's definitely hot." Connor agreed. "Don't sweat it Tim, you'll find the right girl."

"Yeah, right. The press is always comparing me to Dick. 'The new Robin is smaller than the original.'; "The new Robin isn't as athletic.' I hate living in his shadow."

"Come on, Tim. You're every bit the Robin he was and more. Sure, they're comparing you with Nightwing, but he's older than you. We'll see who kicks more ass when you're 25."

Tim nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Did you know I already picked a hero name for when I'm done being Robin?"

"See, now you're thinking ahead … so what did you pick?"

"Red Robin."

"Red Robin? Really?"

"Yeah, 'Red Robin'. What's wrong with it?"

"Dude, that's the name of a burger chain."

"So?"

"So the name blows. Why not just call yourself Burger King Man while you're at it? You need to come up with something else."

"It doesn't blow! It pays homage to who I used to be."

Before Superboy could counter his argument the Tower's klaxons began to blare and red lights flashed.

"Now that's more like it!" Connor cheered as Wally zoomed into the room to check the mission console.

The speedster typed furiously as the rest of the team congregated in the room.

"What is it?" Jinx asked.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Starfire nibbled on her husband's ear.

"I want more." She purred.

"Star, we've already done it twice … I'm only human."

Grayson closed his eyes and smiled.

"Once you are rested we will go for the 'hat trick', as you humans would say."

"As you command, my princess."

She resumed nibbling on his ear. Sometimes Dick couldn't believe his luck. He was married to the girl of his dreams, an unbelievably beautiful princess from the stars. And she wasn't just beautiful, she was an amazing lover. If there ever was an Olympic event for sex, she would win the gold medal hands down. He suddenly thought of his friends. The Logans were also married, and by all measures they were a good couple. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his green friend. There was no way Raven was as good as Starfire between the sheets. The green imp had no idea what he was missing out on, not that Grayson would ever give him an opportunity to find out. Suddenly the idea of wife swapping crossed his mind, and he immediately shuddered. He knew he could never think of Raven that way. She was and always would be his sister. Babs on the other hand …

A twinge of guilt rippled across Grayson's psyche. Sure, nothing had happened so there really was nothing to confess. But deep down he knew he had committed adultery in his heart. He offered himself to Babs and her words haunted him: "it will redefine who we are and what we stand for … are you willing to do that?"

He was ready, or so he thought. He had stared into the abyss and it stared back at him and he blinked. Nothing had happened.

"Richard, are you OK? You suddenly seem so far away."

He blinked as he snapped out of his funk.

"Star, there is something I have to tell you."

"What disturbs you, my beloved?"

Before he could reply they were interrupted by the Tower's alarm system.

"Star! Nightwing! Come to the common room, ASAP. We have visitors … and they don't look friendly!"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Mento was in his study when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Vernon Questor and Rita entered the room. Mento looked up from his paperwork.

"You both look pleased. What's the news?"

Questor smiled. "Garfield has done it again."

"He found the cure?"

"He has, a vaccine sample has already arrived. We should be able to start shipping vaccines in the morning."

Steve leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and grinned. "I never doubted that he would find it. I'll contact Hal Jordan and give him the news."

Before Mento could key up his communications console the Manor's alarm system began to shriek. Negative Man's voice shouted through the console.

"We've got some uninvited guests in the compound, of the extraterrestrial type."

"What kind of aliens?"

"We're not sure. About a dozen ships just swooped down from the sky, they began to fire energy balls from these lances they have. There's like 60 of them and they look mean, Cliff and I could use a hand."

"We're on our way. Do we have any idea of what they want?" Rita shouted.

"They don't speak English, but they keep shouting something that sounds like coriander. I don't think they came to borrow some spice from us."

"Coriander?" Mento muttered to himself. "Wait, I think I know who they are! Try not to fight them."

"I think it's too late for that. Cliff's already knocked a few of them out cold."

Steve and Rita hurried to the scene. By the time they arrived half of the invaders were disabled, and those that remained standing were of the female persuasion.

"Boy, these guys are tough. So are the ladies, but you know me, I'll never hit a lady." Robot man shouted.

"Not a problem for me!" Rita shouted back as she began to grow.

Mento placed his fingertips on his temples and focused on a single word: 'STOP'.

The battle suddenly ceased as the combatants appeared to be in a daze. Mento stepped up to one of the female warriors and kissed her on the lips.

"Steve, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" A 40 foot tall Rita bellowed.

"I'm teaching her English."

"Say what? By kissing her?"

The Tamaranian female rubbed her head while her colleagues tended to their fallen comrades. "Your husband speaks the truth. We Tamaranians can learn new languages via lip contact. My name is Xola."

"And you seek Princess Koriand'r." Mento interjected.

"Princess Kori-who?" Cliff asked.

"We know her as Starfire. When Larry mentioned that they kept saying 'coriander' I knew they were Tamaranians."

He then turned to the female warrior. "I am sorry; Miss Xola, but we do not know the whereabouts of the Princess. To be honest, we thought she was on Tamaran."

"She was, but she recently returned to Earth to find her mate. My orders are to extract her from Earth before the Green Lanterns destroy it. Perhaps she is with her friends, do you know of their location?"

"I know that Cyborg is in Steele City. Nightwing is out in the field and his location is unknown. Our son and his wife are in a secret laboratory, the location of which I do not know. But there is good news, a cure has just been found. The Green Lanterns won't have to destroy the Earth."

Xola frowned. "So we have come in vain?"

"Not really. Once the global quarantine is lifted I'm sure you'll find Starfire safe and sound."

Xola nodded her agreement. "Thank you, Mento of the Doom Patrol. I will inform Galfore about the cure. We apologize for the damage and will compensate you."

"That won't be necessary."

Xola gestured to her troops, who began to limp back to their SunFire ships. She turned to Mento.

"One last question."

"Of course, please ask."

"The lip contact, you humans, you find it pleasurable?"

"In most instances, yes."

"Interesting … farewell, Doom Patrol."

Xola traced her fingers over her lips and she walked back to her ship, and a smile, unseen by Rita, appeared on her face. The SunFires fired up their engines and took off, with their course laid in for Steele City. Mento keyed up the comm console.

"Hal Jordan here."

"Hal, I have good news."

"Good, I could really use some. We're up to our elbows with Tamaranians and my teammates want to throw the Earth into the sun as soon as we deal with the Tamaranian fleet."

"A cure has been found."

"Your timing couldn't be better. Do the Tamaranians know?"

"Yes, they do."

"Good, I'll negotiate a cease fire with them. Who found the cure?"

"It was my son."

"Send my congratulations to him. Jordan out."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Earth is vibrant with life, while Mars is dead."

Before any of you say "What about the Martian Manhunter or Miss Martian?" Well, in this story's AU, they don't exist. When those characters were created we knew very little about Mars. Now we know a lot more about it, and we have Rovers scouring its surface searching for signs of life present or past. So far they have found none.

Also on the new show, Raven admits that she has feelings for BB. Unfortunately she only admits it to herself. Next season they go on date. Why couldn't this have happened on the real show?

Now, it's time for the mailbag. As I write this we are just 8 reviews short of the 1000 mark. Again I thank all of you. This is a mile stone for me. I have never average so many reviews per chapter before. Thanks!

krostovikraven1 – Sometimes it's just better to be lucky.

TW – Well, he might have started a war with the Gordanians.

Apollo Child - She is safe and sound. And she loves donuts!

Guest – Don't count Alexa out yet. The best is still to come.

Anoymous136 – Don't you just hate it when the bad guy is right?

KnighteWolfe – It will happen, but not for the reasons you might be thinking.

Soulsurfer2112 – It is fun to hate Alexa, and soon you will hate her even more, that's a promise!

titanfan45 - Raven really lucked out,

EP – What am I going to do with Alexa? You guys just hate her so much

The Cretin – Raven's fuse is really short now.

Bluedog197 - Thanks! You are never short for words. And hang on; this story is far from over. You don't expect Alexa to just go away now, do you?

Chayseman – Well, Alexa did keep him out of sight.

Katie TDC – Yeah, the New Titans will get some action soon.

Kidstandout - Thanks!

Guest – That is high praise. Thanks!

Densharr – She was very immune.

Adventuresstime – I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Evamntheawesome - Not yet, the disease is just starting to spread and is still in its very early stages.

JasonVUK – Repeat after me "I love Alexa!"

Shadico – Or Alexa might be lying?

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Still have to wait longer to find out about Mark. A few more chapters.

DeeThom – The devil is in the details!

JOHNXgambit – Don't worry about Slade, he's still around, ready to make more trouble. Once they start distributing the vaccine his bounty will become worthless.

Angelique L – Yay! A new reviewer. Raven was worried about how to break the news to Star.

Me – Thanks!

Tjflex – Another new reviewer! I often struggle with how long to make a chapter. FWIW, this story is already too long, word wise. So I'm trying to keep the chapters shorted and more focused.

Death Stroke The Kid – Party like its 1999!

BartWLewis – Isn't serendipity great!

Maddielove95 - On the new show, I can't believe how stupid everyone is (I know it's a satire, but still). Terra has them tied up and is getting ready to kill them, and Robin/Star/Cy can only joke about Raven being jealous of Terra? O the plus side Raven kicked Terra's but and reveals to camera, but not to her friends, that she has a big crush on BB. Next season they will have a date and Terra will return.

Dragonkyng – You never know what might happen.

gabylokita41 – I think it's pretty obvious that Mark likes Raven more than Alexa

7SheWolfShaman7 - Another new reviewer! It keeps getting better! I hope this update was soon enough.

TheThoughtsofKarasu – Well, it was obvious they would find the cure.

mlbv-grimm – Alexa doesn't care if we like her or not.

Skyblue271 – Enjoy the feeling while it lasts

Sweetums14 – And you don't need a prescription.

Ravenandthefire – I hope this chapter elicits a "yes, yes, yes"


	37. Ambush

The young scrubs gathered anxiously around Wally and Jinx. The red clad speedster studied the mission console with wary eyes. Jinx bit her lower lip as she too saw the output on the display. Young Robin elbowed his way in to get a better look, earning an annoyed glare from the pink haired hextress.

"It's about time we had a mission." Superboy grumbled.

"I agree with Connor, we're all getting cabin fever all cooped up in here." His blond girlfriend chimed in.

"So, where is the mission?" Bart Allen, the new Kid Flash, asked.

Wally bit his lower lip. "We aren't going anywhere."

"Why the hell not?" Mia Dearden thundered. "I'm also fed up with hiding in here like a bunch a cowards."

Jinx gave the young female archer a mild glare. "Because, Spee-dee, the mission is coming straight to us."

The Tower, like its twin in Steele City, was under siege by bounty hunters, and was shrouded in retractable armor, which was fortunate as the rabble outside had not one, but two BFG-9000's aimed at the Tower. The giant viewscreen in the common room switched views and showed a fleet of small alien vessels approaching the Tower.

"Who are they?" Mia asked.

"They're Tamaranians. How did they get past the blockade?" Tim interjected while Wally tried to hail them. "Attention, Tamaranian flotilla. Do not approach Titans Tower, we are under siege and you might be fired upon."

The Tamaranians responded in their alien language and continued to approach. It didn't take long for the mob to notice them. As predicted, one of the BFG-9000's fired, vomiting a deadly plasma bolt, which soared across the bay. The Tamaranians were flying in close formation and the shot found a target. One of the Sunfires began to sparkle as its shields were overwhelmed by the shot and the ship exploded in a green fireball, damaging the ship flying on its left flank, sending the second ship tumbling into the bay, where it exploded upon crashing.

An all out battle broke out as the remaining eight Sunfires began to fire upon the militia camped out on the island. Most of the crowd ran for cover, while the few with serious firepower shot back. The Tamaranians were trained warriors, unlike the bounty hunting thugs opposing them. The Titans watched the battle unfold.

"They don't stand a chance, the Tamaranians will slaughter them." Robin remarked.

"We won't let it go that far. Once they take out those BFGs I'm letting the Tamaranians into the landing bay." Wally remarked.

"You're letting them in?" Conner gasped.

"We have to, if we don't they kill everyone out there. It's obvious they came to see us."

"We should go outside and fight!" Superboy shouted while he pumped his fist.

"A good friend of mine once said that fighting isn't always the answer." The Flash calmly remarked as he watched the fight outside continue to unfold. The Tamaranians, who flew their ships skillfully, took out the first BFG. Another Sunfire was shot down before the second gun was taken out. At that point the battle became a rout and the mob fled Titans Island any which way they could, even swimming. At that point he opened the hangar doors on the roof and hailed the aliens a second time. Again, they responded in their strange tongue, but upon seeing the hangar open the broke off their assault and, one by one, entered and landed in the hangar. Once they were all inside the overhead doors closed with an authoritative thud.

Wally and his team were already in the hangar, ready to greet their visitors, who disembarked from their ships, shouting in what sounded like angry voices. Connor bristled at their perceived attitude and yelled back at them.

"This is our house, no one talks to us like that!"

A male warrior, who sported a large red beard and mustache, gesticulated angrily at the half Kryptonian.

Bart snickered. "The dude looks like an overgrown Yosemite Sam! This is so crash!"

"Connor!" Tim interjected. "He means no disrespect. It's just how Tamaranians are."

The Tamaranian squad leader continued shouting in his alien tongue. Connor shook his fist and the Tamaranian lunged at him. Superboy caught him with a right jab and send the alien flying into a wall. After falling to the ground the orange skinned alien slowly got up, and began to snicker, even though he was clearly in pain.

"You want more, chuckles? Cuz I got plenty more where that came from."

Superboy, with a scowl on his face, closed in on the Tamaranian, who was in no shape to defend himself. Several of his comrades formed a perimeter around him. A young female began to shout at him.

"What the hell do they want?" Connor groaned.

Cassie intercepted him. "Connor, take it easy. We need to communicate with them."

She turned around and faced their visitors and spoke slowly. "We don't understand you, and you don't understand us."

'Yosemite Sam' slowly approached her. He looked calm and he stopped in front of her.

"OK, that's better … no shouting." She spoke in a soothing voice. "Now we need to find a way to communicate … and I have no idea of how we're going to …"

The Tamaranian male grabbed her and kissed her. Wonder Girl went bugged eyed and froze.

"What the hell?" Superboy boy shouted as he lunged at the Tamaranian.

Before Conner could reach him Cassie punched 'Sam' and sent him flying into the wall a second time.

"If that's your idea of a joke, I'm not laughing." She screamed.

His comrades came to his aide, but he waved them away as he stood up.

"I did not know that humans were so strong. We are told on Tamaran that you are all weaklings." He enunciated carefully while he rubbed his bruised jaw.

"Oh, so you do speak English." Connor snarled at him.

"I do now, young man."

"Why the hell did you kiss my girl, you old goat?"

The man shook his head, as if he didn't understand. "The lip contact, you are offended?"

"Duh! Yeah!" Cassie screamed at him.

Robin stepped in. "Tamaranians don't kiss."

"He sure as hell kissed Cassie ... what the hell? Are Tamaranians pervs or something?"

"No, you don't understand … he called it lip contact … they can download information, knowledge by kissing. It doesn't have any romantic meaning for them."

"Download knowledge." Wonder Girl growled. "That has to be the most pathetic excuse I ever …"

"Yes, young lady, knowledge." 'Sam' interrupted. "My name is Sergeant Helfar. It is how I learned to speak your language. I was unaware of the intimacy aspect the lip contact has for humans. I apologize for violating your person. I assure you that I did it out of ignorance."

"You're lucky you didn't try to cop a feel." She snarled at him.

He processed the slang expression and after a few seconds an alarmed expression appeared on his face.

"What? Why would I do that? Knowledge cannot be transferred in that manner."

Wally stepped forward. "Now that we've dealt with that and we can communicate … why are you here?"

"We seek the Princess Starfire. She is to return to Tamaran."

"I thought she was already there." Jinx interrupted.

"She was, but she returned to Earth to seek her mate."

"Well, you came to the wrong place. She hasn't lived here for years." Cassie barked at the man.

Helfar's face fell. "Then we have failed.'

"She's in Steele City, with her husband." Wally announced.

"I see, then it is time for us to leave. I ask for yours and X'Hal's pardon for intruding on you like this."

Helfar barked a command in Tamaranian to his troops, who immediately returned to their ships, except for a shapely young woman who approached.

"This is Annikka, she is my second in command."

The woman and Robin locked eyes. Tim smiled and she immediately pulled him into a kiss.

"Annikka! Do not do that! It is offensive to them!"

Tim grinned a dopey, love struck smile as Annikka released him. "It's cool … I'm good."

Annikka smiled at Robin. "Farewell, Boy Wonder. Maybe if we meet again, we can do more than just kiss."

Robin stared dumbfounded as the two Tamaranians returned to their ship. Annikka winked at him, before closing the hatch. He didn't move as the ships took off and left. Mia approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you OK, Tim?"

He snapped out of his trance and grinned. "I'm better than OK, I'm in love."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Hal Jordan grimaced as he dodged the starbolts the battle cruiser fired at him. Millenia had passed since the treaty was signed, the one that kept the Green Lantern Corps out of the Vega system. Much to his, and his fellow Lantern's chagrin, Tamaranian warfare had come a long way since that day and the orange skinned aliens were proving to be formidable foes. Now he understood why the Gordanians were unable to breach Tamaran's borders.

In the end it would be of no consequence, when it would be over the Green Lanterns would win this battle, though it pained him to think of the outcome. Such tremendous loss of life. As he spun around he caught a glimpse of his home world below. Billions of lives would be lost if Boodikka made good on her promise. And he was in a bad position, other than the other human Lanterns and Kilowog; he had no allies to turn the tide against the usurper who stole his command. He knew that the Guardians would punish her later, possibly taking away her ring of power. But that wouldn't bring Earth back.

Jordan did a barrel roll and just as he was about to form a giant baseball bat his ring buzzed, indicating an incoming call.

"Now's not a good time, whoever you are!"

"Jordan! It's me, Mento from the Doom Patrol."

"I'm kind of busy right now, Dayton."

"I know, but it's good news. A cure's been found."

Hal finished forming his giant, emerald baseball bat and slammed the cruiser with it, sending it tumbling in space.

"A cure! Are you sure?"

"Yes, we'll begin administering it in a few hours."

"Dayton, that's the best news I've heard in hours. Would you mind telling the Tamaranians too? We could use a cease fire up here."

"They should know by now."

As if on cue, the Tamaranian cruisers broke off their attack, and after firing up their FTL drives one by one they jumped into otherspace, heading back to Tamaran.

_**-( scene break )-**_

The common room in the Steele City Tower was getting crowded as everyone made their entrance. The view screen showed a small squadron of Sunfires approaching. Starfire and Nightwing were the last to arrive.

"Looks like we have visitors from the old country." Cyborg remarked. "I'm hailing them."

Within seconds Galfore's cross face appeared on the screen. Grayson placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "He looks pissed." He whispered into her ear.

"He always looks that way." She replied. "Or have you forgotten?"

Cyborg opened the doors to the hangar bay. "Y'all come in. Those folks outside aren't friendly."

"I will have my people eradicate them." Galfore announced.

"No, wait, we don't want to hurt them." Cyborg replied.

"You humans are peculiar; you are so violent, yet at the same time so merciful. You are an enigma … is Koriand'r with you?"

"I am here, my old knorfka."

"Good, there is much we need to discuss." He replied.

The connection was severed. Cyborg sighed. "Well, we'd better go and meet him in the landing bay; I don't want them trashing the Tower looking for you."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Cyborg, Bumblebee, Batgirl, Nightwing and Starfire entered the landing bay just as the Tamaranian corvettes were shutting down their engines. Galfore's flagship stood out as it had the Imperial Crest painted on its side. A loud hiss was heard and a hatch opened on its side. The corvette had a crew of five, including Galfore, who was the last to emerge from the small ship. Flanked by his crew, he approached the Graysons.

"Welcome to Titans Tower East." Nightwing formally greeted him.

"I did not come here to speak with you, human."

"You will not speak to my husband that way, Galfore."

"I am the Grand Ruler, I will speak with him as I please."

"Why have you refused to accept him?"

"He is an outsider and a commoner too. Why did you leave Tamaran in secret to reunite with him?"

Grayson bristled at Galfore's words, but Starfire took his hand and calmed him.

"He is my spouse. That you do not approve does not change that. And I left in secret because you would not have allowed me to return to Earth."

"How did you get past the blockade?" Cyborg asked.

"We did it at a great cost. Lives have been lost, Koriand'r, because of your stubbornness."

"You did not have to come after me."

"Yes, we did. Princess Mar'i is the sole heir to the throne. Had she died on Earth, there would have been no one to succeed me. Chaos, perhaps even civil war would have ensued. Where is the child?"

"I left her with Raven and Beast Boy. She is safe"

"Wait a minute … if Star and Mar'i had died, wouldn't Blackfire's claim to the throne been reinstated? Is that why you risked so much to save them? To keep Blackfire off the throne?" Nightwing asked.

A pained expression appeared on Galfore's face. "I am afraid that I have bad news regarding Princess Kommand'r."

"What? Did she try to take over another system and now she's rotting in some alien prison?" Dick asked, his voice dripping with contempt.

"If only that were true, the news would not be so bad." Galfore replied in a flat monotone.

"Galfore, what has my sister done now?"

The Grand Ruler shook his head. "She has done nothing."

"I do not understand."

Before he could reply a black hemisphere rose from the floor. After fully emerging It faded away, revealing the Logans, who had Nightstar and Coraline with them. Beast Boy smiled sheepishly before greeting them. "Surprise?"

"Daddy!" Nightstar shrieked as she flew into her father's arms. Grayson wrapped his arms around his daughter and squeezed her tightly. A single tear leaked out from his mask. Galfore looked upon the scene, saying nothing while subtly nodding with approval. Babs was sporting an ear to ear grin. Starfire approached her friends and hugged them both. Raven pulled Coraline out of her sling and handed her to Starfire, who began to coo the tiny infant. Mar'i took her father's hand and led him to Starfire.

"Baby Coraline's here." She beamed. "She was born!"

Nightwing approached the group and his wife turned to present Coraline to him. He took her from Starfire.

"I haven't held a baby for a while." He chuckled while he traced a gloved finger across the gray skinned infant's forehead. "But that's going to change soon."

Other Titans crowded around Nightwing, and began to ooh and ah at little Coraline. Once they all had a chance to see her, he handed the infant back to her mother, grinning mischievously. Raven arched an eyebrow at him, silently saying "What?"

"I think she needs a fresh diaper." He chortled.

She handed Coraline to Garfield, who had the diaper bag slung around his shoulder. "Your turn, dad." She smiled.

"I'm on it." He replied with a grin.

"Wait!" Galfore raised his hand. "I have news about Kommand'r, you should all hear it."

Galfore paused and furrowed his brow. All eyes and ears were upon him.

"Koriand'r, I'm so sorry to tell you this. Your sister … she is dead."

The hangar fell silent. Starfire covered her mouth with her hand and her body began to tremble.

"No." Raven whispered. Nightstar ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around her.

"How did she die?" Nightwing asked.

"She was murdered."

"Murdered? I thought that there was no crime on Tamaran. Who did it?" Raven asked.

"It was her lover, a junior officer named Frassa'd."

Starfire became livid. "He murdered her!? That sniveling ingrate! The glork worm! Tell me you have not executed him, for I wish to do that myself."

"Whoa … Star." The changeling interjected. "You don't want to do that."

"He murdered my only sister, Garfield. I know that we had our issues and that she was not a person of good moral character … but she was my sister ... and despite her immorality … I loved her."

Starfire fell to her knees and began to weep uncontrollably. Her husband knelt next to her and wrapped his arms around her in a vain attempt to console her. Bumblebee did the same for Nightstar while Cyborg frowned at the bad news.

"I am afraid that Frassa'd is already dead. The coward killed himself after he murdered the princess."

"Do we know why he did it? Did he leave a note?" Raven asked.

"No … his motives remain a mystery. It is possible that she was about to replace him with a new lover, Kommand'r was known to do that on a regular basis. But we Tamarians … we do not kill over spurned love, it isn't our way."

"I'd like to go to Tamaran to investigate." Grayson replied.

"That would be helpful. Crime is so infrequent on Tamaran that we lack detectives such as yourself."

Galfore knelt next to Starfire, who continued to blubber. She buried her face in his chest.

"You need to return to Tamaran for the funeral … I would like the five of you to come. I have been informed of the discovery of the vaccine. The blockade should soon be lifted."

"I will be the judge of that!" A female voice interrupted.

Everyone turned to the source of the voice. It was a female humanoid alien Green Lantern who glowed as a protective field shielded her from the environment.

"You're Boodikka?" Nightwing announced. "Hal has told me about you."

"Jordan has told me about the discovery. Before I lift the blockade and spare Earth from its fate, I would like to see this vaccine."

Beast Boy opened a satchel. "I brought some with me, to inoculate my friends; I believe that it will protect you as well."

He presented a small vial to her, which she took with an emerald tendril. It floated into a position in front of her and her ring of power scanned its contents. She then returned the vial to the changeling.

"I am satisfied, Earth will be spared. The blockade however will remain in effect until everyone has been inoculated and a quarantine period has expired. And exception will be made for those present who wish to travel to Tamaran, once they have received the vaccine."

Cyborg cleared his throat. "Excuse me, where is Hal Jordan?"

"I relieved him of duty because of a conflict of interest."

She then turned to Galfore and frowned.

"Your attack against the Corps was foolhardy and possibly a violation of the treaty."

Galfore crossed his huge arms and glared at the woman. "The treaty was signed between you and the Psions, and it only covers the Vega system. We came to protect the princesses, which we have every right to do. As for it being foolhardy, I would say that we were evenly matched in battle. We do not fear the Green Lantern Corps. And I will file an official protest with the Guardians. And I will ask for you to be held accountable and to be disciplined for wrongfully attacking us."

Boodikka glared at the Tamaranian. "I will return command to Jordan. He was in charge when your fleet entered the system. If anyone will be blamed, it will be him."

Galfore grinned maliciously. "We will see about that … Boodikka."

Boodikka took her leave and departed. Galfore turned to face the Fab 5. "We will be leaving for Tamaran within the hour."

"I need to go back and square a few things away in the lab before we go." Beast Boy remarked. "It shouldn't take me long."

Raven conjured a portal for him. As approached it she followed him. He stopped.

"Why don't you stay here with Star?" He asked. "I think she needs you."

Raven looked at Starfire, who was still looking disheveled. "I think I will."

The changeling handed the satchel with the vaccines to Cyborg, before disappearing into the dark portal.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven's portal led straight into their apartment in the lab. They left in secret and choose the apartment as their point of departure. When Beast Boy stepped out of the portal he found that the room was dark, which disconcerted him as he was certain that the lights had been left on. He fumbled in the dark for the light switch on the wall. He found it and turned on the lights.

As soon as the lights came on he heard what sounded like a loud 'thwip' and felt a sharp pain on his left side. He instinctively reached for the source of pain and found that a large dart had pierced him. As he grabbed and attempted to dislodge it the room became blurry. He turned to his left and saw that he wasn't alone but couldn't recognize his visitor who also looked blurry.

"Who … are … you?" The changeling slurred.

Beast Boy felt his legs go rubbery and he began to stumble, while he still clutched the dart in his hand, trying to pull it out of his body while darkness threatened to take him. His legs buckled and he collapsed, rolling on the floor. As he hit the ground the dart finally dislodged, rolling under a nearby chest of drawers.

He struggled to regain control but lost all consciousness as the world around him finally faded to black and his supine form ceased to move.

A mysterious figure knelt next to him and placed a small device on his neck, a single light on it began to flash. The changeling, still unconscious, morphed into a small mouse, which was scooped up by a leather gloved hand and placed into a small box. The intruder placed the box into a briefcase and turned off the lights before leaving the room. Walking down the hall, the kidnapper stopped in front of the elevator and summoned it.

The elevator door opened and the car was occupied. She smiled at the passengers.

"It's OK Doc, there's room for one more." Some called out.

"We're going home, finally!" Someone else cheered.

"Hey Doc, have you seen Dr. Logan?" A third person, one of the cooks at the dining hall, asked. "I just wanted to thank him for everything he did."

"No, I can't say that I've seen him." She replied.

_**-( scene break )-**_

And now we go into the final stretch, where all the mysteries will be revealed. I also apologize for this chapter. I was having some serious writer's block and this was the best I could do.

I watched the Dodgeball episode. Is there anyway to "unwatch" it. I'm afraid that my IQ dropped a few points. And I also saw the preview clip for next week's episode: where BB and Cyborg argues over whether burgers or burritos are better. Is that really the best the writers can do?

And now, it's mailbag time.

Reader - Sorry for the delay. I've had a bit of writer's block.

Bluedog197 – Trogaar always struck me as someone who was extremely callous.

Hayhay12 – I would never want to be the source for your unhappiness.

TW – They were manipulated by Slade.

Just a Thinker – Well! Thanks for not lurking anymore! And I'm glad you like it.

bigC94 - I never expected this story to do so well.

The Cretin - Grayson does have feelings for Babs, which makes it all that much harder.

TheDarkChangeling – Thanks! I wonder how far this story will go.

SuperNolon - I seem to recall that Luthor promised him quite a bit. Butt BB is the sole heir to the Dayton fortune, so I don't think he's too worried about money

DeeThom – You will find out soon enough.

Guest - I'll do my best to not make them too short.

Adventuresstime – for some reason that made me think of Darth Vader

Guest - Done!

Me – I like M'Gann, but I never know what to do with her.

gabylokita41 – I'm having a lot of fun making Mar'i "cute"

Sweetums14 – Earth is safe.

EP – Alexa: The blond, brainy bombshell you love to hate!

LSUABW - Rita would probably step on her.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Star seemed to take a liking to it. I recall reading that before making contact with the west, that the Japanese did not kiss!

mlbv-grimm – Leave it to BB

Shadico - Boodikka is in trouble and she knows it.

Fl4mingTurd - One thing is certain, Alexa is up to no good.

Skyblue271 – They are one happy bunch of nerds!

Katie TDC - But he's such a nice kid!

Evamntheawesome – Some questions are best left unanswered!

7SheWolfShaman7 - Some of the new episodes (most of them, actually) are painful to watch. And not just because they suck, but because we know we won't get the original show back.

JOHNXgambit – I always liked the Episode "The End Part 1" where Starfire smothers Raven's disgusting pancakes in mustard.

Ravenandthefire – Fantastic!

Soulsurfer2112 - Thank you!

JasonVUK – Can you get Krispy Kreme donuts in the UK?

Kidstandout - I think now you know.

titanfan45 – I was inspired by a Star Trek movie when the Klingon commander tells his gunner to disable the small Federation ship, and he accidentally blows it up. The Gunner looks at his captain and says "Lucky Shot". The captain then shoots him.

krostovikraven1 – Now that they have bigger fish to fry, I think Grayson will sit on that secret for a while. I agree, the Terra episode is one of the few good ones in the new show. And Terra is very "comic book" in the episode. She oozes contempt for BB.

Chayse-man – Yes … you're foolish

Notabotipromise – There is still some adventure and intrigue to go.

Randamwriter – Mento probably didn't get any nookie that night!

Death Stroke The Kid – It does bug me how everyone (except Raven) is portrayed as a knuckled headed idiot. Terra has them tied up and is ready to kill them, and all the others can do is tease Raven about being jealous?

Anoymous136 - The human knew that he had to be careful.

BartWLewis – Mark will be back.

Dragonkyng - I'm guessing that we have at least 10 more chapters.


	38. Lex Luthor

Rand and Starfire watched Beast Boy disappear into the portal, which faded away with a soft hum after he passed through it. Coraline fussed, squirming in Raven's arms. The gray sorceress scrunched her nose.

"Great, now I have to change her diaper. He always finds a way to weasel out of it."

"I will help you, dear friend."

Raven turned and saw Starfire's tear drenched face.

"You don't need to do that. I stayed behind to console you."

"It is OK, Raven … helping you change your daughter will console me."

"Her bowel movements are … pungent now." Raven smiled. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Starfire grabbed the diaper bag and slid it off her shoulder. "I am positive … Mar'i, you will come with us. We will do this in my room."

Nightstar nodded her head and followed the two women out of the common room. Galfore and Nightwing watched them leave. The two men stood in silence until Grayson broke the silence.

"So how did he kill her?"

Galfore grumbled unhappily. "He shot her in the back with standard issue blaster."

"I've never seen one of those."

"They are only issued to officers. Frassa'd was a lieutenant in the infantry."

"The infantry? I thought all Tamaranians could fly."

"We can, but unlike the princesses, our flight abilities are very limited. Those who are particularly untalented with flight are assigned to the ground forces."

"So he used a gun … let me guess, no star bolts?"

"No … only the princesses have that ability."

"I see. So … after he shot Blackfire …"

"Princess Kommand'r." Galfore corrected him.

"Right … Princess Kommand'r."

"What do you call your spouse?"

Grayson gave the Grand Ruler a curious look. "I call her Starfire."

"You are her consort; you should call her by her correct name."

"I sometimes call her Kory."

"Not good enough, Grayson. She might be your wife, but by marrying her you have become Tamaranian, and she is your superior. You will address her correctly."

"Fine … when we're on Tamaran I'll follow protocol. Happy?"

Galfore glared at him. "No, I am not happy. You are unworthy of her."

"Isn't that for her to decide?"

"No … it is not. Protocol dictates that I choose a mate for her. But now, you have defiled her. Taking her as your bride in your pathetic Earthly ceremony … that was an affront to all of Tamaran."

"Well … excuse me." Grayson replied with a hint of insolence.

"You are not excused … when Koriand'r returned to Tamaran … without you … the populace was overjoyed."

"And you want me to help you figure out why this Frassa'd guy killed Blackfire?"

Galfore bristled. "I see that your human insubordination is coming through. Keep your detective skills to yourself, human. Knowing why he killed her will change nothing."

"It was probably for a personal reason." Nightwing interjected.

"Because he killed himself?"

"You don't have murder/suicides on Tamaran, do you?"

Galfore narrowed his eyes. "We are not barbarians like you humans."

"And yet it happened."

"No doubt because of the negative influence of Earth."

"What a shame … and my half human daughter is next in line for the throne."

"She is Koriand'r's daughter, she is not yours."

"Excuse me?"

"Under our laws, since you are a commoner, you abdicate all rights to her. Legally she is not your daughter."

"Well, lucky for me we're on Earth, and here she is legally my daughter."

"A situation that can easily be remedied, human."

Grayson bristled at the remark. "You would just love to have her divorce me so you could marry her off to one of your snobby royals. But you, you aren't royalty. Who are you to criticize me?"

Galfore leaned forward so that he was face to face with Dick. His hirsute mug was screwed with anger and contempt. "I am a warrior of Tamaran … but you … you are clown from a circus."

The tin man nervously watched the interaction between the two men. He saw Grayson's jaw tremble for a split second, but to his credit he kept his cool and turned to his friend.

"Cyborg, the Grand Ruler of Tamaran is unwelcome here. Would you be kind enough to escort the Galfore back to his shuttlecraft?"

Victor smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Starfire pulled a large towel out of the diaper bag and spread it across her bed. Raven placed Coraline on the towel and the infant kicked her legs around. Starfire handed the box of baby wipes to her gray friend, who methodically got to work. Nightstar pinched her nose as the acrid aroma shocked her nostrils. Raven continued her task until her daughter was clean and had a fresh diaper.

"When we first met, I never imagined myself cleaning a baby's bottom." The sorceress remarked in her monotone.

"Yes, much has changed since those days."

Raven removed her cape before picking up her daughter and sat down on a chair. With her free hand she pulled down a zipper on the front of her leotard and within moments she began to nurse her daughter.

"Starfire, I know you and your sister weren't close."

"We were not. Just before I returned to Earth I asked Galfore to banish her from Tamaran."

"You did? Why?"

"She was trying to turn Mar'i against me."

"Oh … I guess I can understand your position."

Starfire began to sniffle. "Raven, my last words to her … they were not sisterly … they were spoken in anger … I said 'Enjoy your man whore tonight, sister, for tomorrow you will be banished from Tamaran'. Why did I say that?"

"But despite all that she ever did to you, and whatever words you exchanged with each other, you still loved her."

Starfire closed her eyes and pursed her lips. She fought back the tears as she nodded her affirmation. Raven placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're lucky … because you loved her. Starfire … there's something I've never told anyone, except for Gar."

The princess pulled herself together. "Raven … you do not need to share your secrets with me."

"Actually, I think I should … Starfire …I have siblings … well … half siblings actually."

"By your father?"

"Yes, he sired each one from a different woman. In the end I was the only one powerful enough to be the gem."

"Oh … so … your siblings … you do not love them?"

"That would be an understatement. I have six brothers and I have no love for them at all. They are vile, nasty and evil creatures … the universe would be better off without them and it is, because I banished them to the same hell where I sent my father. I know that Blackfire was a terribly flawed person, but you had something with her that I never had with my father and my brothers ... you had a family."

"But Raven, you do have a family. We are your family and now you have a spouse and daughter."

"I know … I never believed that I could ever have all this, being who I am. In my mind it was something other people had, good people, not monsters like me … Starfire, I am so sorry for your loss … and don't worry about your final words to her. They don't define how you really felt about her, but the tears on your face do."

Starfire sniffled. "There is so much tragedy in our lives. Richard, Garfield, Victor and I … we all lost our parents and now I have lost my sister as well. And when you became the portal, I also thought I had lost you, my friend."

"But there is also so much joy. That's something I learned from you Starfire, and for that I am in your debt, my sister. That was a terrible day."

With Coraline still suckling, Raven stood up and the two friends, who had grown and experienced so much together, shared a hug. Eventually they separated and Raven, with Coraline still latched onto her, sat back down in her chair. As soon as she was comfortable again, the room's door slid open and Nightwing barged in.

"Raven! Have you heard from Beast Bo … whoops!"

Grayson stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned around; a light blush appeared on his face

"Sorry about that! You know, you could have put a sign on the door or something. I mean … this is my room, I shouldn't have to knock before entering."

"It's OK, Dick. You can turn around."

"But … you're exposed."

Raven chuckled. "It's not like you've never seen one before."

"Yeah, I have … but not one of yours."

"Will you just relax?"

Nightwing slowly turned around, just as Raven removed Coraline from her engorged breast, which was now fully exposed. He winced as he turned away a second time. "You did that on purpose!"

Raven zipped up her leotard. "OK, you big baby, I'm decent now. Now what was it that you were asking me?"

Nightwing turned around with a scowl on his face. "I didn't want to see that, now that image, one of your gray breasts, is seared into my brain … anyway, I just came to see if Beast Boy was back yet."

"Now that you mention it, he hasn't checked in with me … and it's been almost an hour."

"Well, Galfore is itching to head back to Tamaran for Blackfire's funeral and since we're all supposed to go we can't leave until he returns."

Raven picked up an old fashioned land line phone. "I'll call the security office at the lab and have them page him for me."

Raven dialed the number and waited for a moment.

"Hello? … This is Mrs. Logan. Would you mind paging my husband? … Yes, I left the facility. … Yes, I know, I should have checked out at the front desk but could you please page him? … Thank you."

Raven waited for about a minute, drumming her fingers impatiently. "He isn't responding? Could you call his lab? … You already did … no one has seen him? Are you certain of this? … Yes, I'm certain he's there … You'll keep looking? … Thanks."

Raven hung up the phone. "Something's wrong."

"No one has seen him? I saw him enter that portal." Nightwing remarked. "Are you sure you sent him to the right place?"

"I know I did." She suddenly handed Coraline to Starfire. "I'm going to look for him. I'll be right back." She conjured a portal and stepped into it.

"Raven, wait!" Nightwing shouted as the portal vanished. "Great! Now if she also disappears, not only will we have to find them, but we'll be stuck with the baby until we do."

Starfire had a troubled look on her face.

"Are you worried?" He asked her.

"Yes, I am. I agree with Raven, something feels wrong."

After a few minutes Raven's portal reopened.

"See, she's already back. I'll bet she found him right away and chewed him out before coming back."

Raven stepped through the portal which vanished behind her. She had a troubled look on her.

"He's not there. I went to every floor and I never sensed his presence."

"You mean he left?" Nightwing asked.

"Yes, but not willingly."

Grayson frowned. "Are you sure? How do you know that?"

Raven extended her hand forward, and opened it, her palm facing upward. "I found this in our room."

Nightwing took the dart from her hand and examined it. "I'll have Cyborg check it out, but I'll bet it had a sedative … someone's kidnapped him … but how did they get him out of there without being seen?"

"Uncle Gar can morph in to small animals." Nightstar chimed in.

"But that would mean he cooperated." Grayson remarked.

"Maybe he was forced." Raven added.

"We need to put a suspect list together. Access into that lab is restricted and it's heavily guarded."

"By guards on Lex Luthor's payroll."

"You're right, Raven. We'll start there, but we need more suspects. Can you think of anyone else?"

The sorceress frowned. "I certainly can, and if it was who I'm thinking of … she's a dead woman."

_**-( scene break )-**_

A burning sensation, that was the first thing he felt as he instinctively reached for his side. The feeling bloomed into all out pain when he touched the source of the burn and his hand recoiled away. Cobwebs filled his mind and he struggled to become lucid. As he slowly woke up he remembered the blurry figure in his room and then recalled the large dart that had lodged itself in his side. Now awake he carefully explored where the dart had been and found that it was gone.

Now he was fully awake and found that he was resting in a lumpy, military grade cot inside a dimly lit room. Taking a deep breath and with great caution he gingerly sat up in the bed. Shards of pain shot out from his wound and he winced in agony. Batman was right, he was out of shape, and at least he was by superhero standards.

As he sat up he felt a solid metal collar around his neck. He reached for it and found it to be very solid, as it was firmly lodged around his neck. Guessing what it was he tried to morph and found that he couldn't. Whoever his captors were, they were thorough and had covered all bases with the power cancellation collar. At least now he knew why his side was hurting so much, he was healing at a regular human rate and lacked the superhuman strength he normally had.

With some trepidation he stood up and found that the effect of the drug had yet to fully wear off. As he leaned against a wall to keep from falling a hidden loudspeaker crackled to life.

"I would suggest getting back into that bed. The sedative will be in your system for another 24 hours." An indistinct and clearly electronically masked androgynous voice boomed in the room.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"I ask the questions, not you, changeling."

"I won't cooperate."

"It would be unfortunate if something happened to your wife and daughter."

Beast Boy scoffed at the threat. "Good luck with that. Raven already knows by now that I'm missing. There's no way you'll catch her by surprise. And she kicks butt, just try anything and she'll hand your head handed to you on a platter."

In spite of his bravado, Gar could feel the effect of the drug still working on him. His legs felt rubbery so he cautiously returned to his cot and sat down on it.

"I suggest you sleep it off. Once the effect has expired we will talk again."

Beast Boy leaned forward and rested his face in the palms of his hands. His captor was right; he still felt the effect of the drug. He raised his head and surveyed the room. It was a gray cinderblock affair with a stainless steel toilet and sink on the wall. If only he could morph, he could flush himself to freedom. The door looked like impervious solid steel and there was no obvious escape route.

As the drug induced fatigue began to set in, he thought of Raven. She was probably going crazy wondering where he was and if he was OK. Not seeing any clear form of escape he resigned himself to sleeping some more. Hopefully once the drug wore off he might find a way to break out of his prison, and to accomplish that he would have to find a way to remove that damned collar. As he began to doze off, he recalled another time he had been trapped with a collar around his neck and that he was able to get it off. A vision of Soto's amazed face popped into his mind before he fell asleep.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Metropolis. It was Superman's home town and it was Lex Luthor's as well. It was a prosperous city of tall, gleaming buildings, the tallest of which was the LuthCorp corporate headquarters. The soaring, modern, glass wrapped building stood head and shoulders above its peers, boldly proclaiming Lex Luthor's prominence as the city's wealthiest man.

Luthor's office was at the building's summit, on the 175th floor. Two thousand feet below his office was Metropolis's Broadway Avenue, ten lanes of busy traffic, with thousands of cars zooming past the #1 Broadway address. Among the river of cars, a blue and white vehicle stood out. It was a unique automobile, one that was not familiar to the denizens of Metropolis.

Cyborg kept the original T-Car at his father's Metropolis house, taking it out only on special occasions, and today was definitely a 'special occasion'. Victor was behind the wheel and Nightwing was in the passenger seat, while Raven and Starfire were in the back seat. Coraline and Nightstar were left in Bumblebee's care and Galfore had been quick to express his displeasure that the princess was not left with him, but in the end he grudgingly accepted the situation.

After parking the car in Luthor's cavernous underground garage the four Titans entered the building's lobby area. The main reception desk was massive and was staffed by several young and extremely attractive women. Nightwing led his old team to one of the receptionists, who smiled at them as they parked themselves in front of her.

"How may I help you?"

"We're here to see Mr. Luthor."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, we don't."

"Then I'm afraid you can't see him."

"Do you know who we are?" Raven hissed at her.

The young woman, who looked no older than 25, shrugged her shoulders. "Should I? You aren't the first Spandex clad types who have asked to see Mr. Luthor without an appointment."

"We are the Titans!" Starfire snarled.

"I've never heard of you. Look, I'm sorry, but unless you have an S shield on your chest, Mr. Luthor doesn't have the time. He's a very busy man."

"We aren't leaving until we see him." Nightwing growled.

The receptionist sighed as she reached for a phone. "I'm calling security; I suggest you leave before they arrive."

A white gloved woman's hand intercepted the receptionist and pushed the phone handset back into the cradle. "That won't necessary, Heather. Mr. Luthor is more than happy to see Dr. Roth and her friends."

Raven recognized Mercy, Lex Luthor's confidant and bodyguard.

"Dr. Roth, it's nice to see you again, please, follow me."

Mercy led the four Titans to a private elevator, which was restricted to card key access. As soon as the doors closed Mercy resumed speaking. "We were expecting you, though you should have called ahead, so we could have alerted the ladies in reception to know you would be arriving."

"You were expecting us?" Nightwing asked.

"Yes, we have been informed about Dr. Logan's disappearance."

The lift rose at vertiginous speeds and they were soon at the top floor. The elevator doors opened, revealing a sumptuous reception area. Luthor's private secretary, whose desk was next to the massive teak wood doors that led into his office, stood and greeted them as they approached.

"Mr. Luthor is ready to see you, this way please."

The secretary knocked politely on the doors before opening them.

"Dr. Roth! Please, come in!" Luthor's voice boomed.

Lex Luthor's office was elegant in its minimalism. It was glass on three sides, with a breath taking view of Metropolis. His desk, while massive, was not ornate, and looked Scandinavian in its styling. He gestured to the four Titans to be seated and offered them refreshments, which they politely declined. Mercy took her post, standing next to his chair, slightly behind him.

"You're here to see me about Dr. Logan's disappearance. You think that I might somehow be behind it, don't you?"

"Yeah, the thought crossed our minds." Cyborg replied in an irritated tone.

"Believe me, I was not involved. And why would I? Dr. Logan is once again, a global hero. And under whose nose was he abducted? Mine! You do understand that this makes me look very bad, don't you?"

"How so?" Starfire asked in a cold voice.

Mercy stepped forward.

"You are aware that Lex is brokering a peace conference between North and South Korea? We will be providing every level of service during that conference, including security. Dr. Logan's abduction is a black eye for us, and the North Koreans are already threatening to pull out of the conference because of that."

"I never knew you were so altruistic, Lex." Nightwing sneered. "A regular global citizen."

Luthor chuckled. "No is denying that a reunified Korea would be beneficial to business, especially to LuthCorp business. So you see, I have nothing to gain from this situation and I have plenty to lose. But there is more."

"More?" Raven asked.

"Dr. Logan isn't the only one who disappeared. Dr. Pontone checked out of the lab a few hours ago with her son. She was supposed to come straight here to meet with us, but she never showed up." Mercy informed them.

"I knew it! I knew that woman was bad news when I laid eyes on her!" Raven fumed. "She kidnapped Gar, I just know it."

"I wish I had your gift of discernment, Dr. Roth, it would have come in handy. We're just learning that Alexa has been involved in widespread industrial espionage. She's stolen secrets from me that are worth billions. To put it mildly, she hoodwinked us."

"So what are you proposing, Luthor?" Grayson asked.

"What else? That we work together to find Alexa and Dr. Logan."

"We don't have any proof that Alexa is behind BB's disappearance." Cyborg remarked.

"She has him, there's no doubt of that." Raven interjected. "The woman is obsessed with him, she's insane. She considers herself his wife."

"Say what?" Cyborg gasped. "Are you serious?"

"I heard her say it with her own lips … she's some kind of polygamist. She even claimed to be the 'senior wife' because Mark was born first."

Luthor leaned back in his chair and smiled at Grayson. "So, Nightwing, shall we work together?"

Dick crossed his arms and frowned. "Superman isn't going to like this."

"Kal El is not here." Mercy remarked. "I don't see him offering to help you."

"Fine! Deal, we'll work with you, Luthor."

The bald billionaire grinned. "Excellent, Mercy will brief you on everything we know about Alexa. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment coming up."

"Follow me please; I have a conference room prepared for us." Mercy remarked.

As they filed out of the office, Cyborg whispered to Raven. "I don't believe this, we're doing Luthor's dirty work."

"I don't care. All I know is that if anything has happened to Gar, I'll kill her."

"After I kill her first." Cyborg whispered back.

"I'm not joking, Victor, I'm serious. If he's been harmed I will kill her."

Cyborg placed a hand of Raven's shoulder and they briefly stopped walking.

"I'm not kidding either." He replied in a flat monotone of his own.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Partnering with Luthor? Are they right? Was it Alexa who took BB? Or was it someone else? Maybe Alexa was also kidnapped? Who knows!?

And the date episode is next week. According to the synopsis: "When a computer dating program matches Beast Boy to Raven, he tries wooing her to disastrous effect." So don't get your hopes up, BBRae fans. Cartoon Network still doesn't love us.

And now, mailbag time. Only 31 reviews this time! I shouldn't complain, that's a pretty good number. Thanks to all loyal readers!

tacocat15 - And I have been slower than usual in updating. My apologies.

chica13 – Alexa needs some love. Will it be green love she gets?

SuperNolon – The cure has already been delivered.

ShadowChaser – It would be cool to write an episode for the old show.

Kidstandout – We're not quite done yet.

gabylokita41 – Why? Do you even need to ask?

Sweetums14 – I am developing a serious dislike for the new show.

Bluedog197 - I'll go with getting better. It sounds cool!

bigC94 – There's still some mystery in the air.

JasonVUK – They finally got him.

Katt In The Boxx – I hope you have a good Health Plan

goldenrod51 – The burrito vs burger episode made my head hurt.

Soulsurfer2112 – So what does the kidnapper want with BB?

Guest - I'm doing my best to be timely. But hey, at least I don't make you wait a month.

DeeThom – Who knows, maybe all of the above?

The Cretin – I'm sorry to say this, but the new show has been renewed for a second season. We can pretty much kiss season six goodbye. Sinestro would make a good cameo.

Katie TDC – Raven's heart would be broken if he did that.

Death Stroke The Kid – Well, she is making threats.

BartWLewis – I'm glad you liked it.

Adventuresstime – Something very bad.

Anoymous136 – Galfore is being a jerk.

Chayse-man – You know me too well.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast - You can just feel Rage swelling in Raven's psyche. A trip to Nevermore is in order.

Just a Thinker – Sometimes, with all that is going on, it's easy to forget that Star is preggers

titanfan45 - Did you see what happened to Boodikka in the Green Lantern animated movie?

checkit789 - You guys like to suffer.

7SheWolfShaman7 - It's tempting, isn't it? Maybe it'll get to 2000 reviews! I'd love to do a sequel to a House Divided, but I just can't think of a plot.

krostovikraven1 – Sometimes I wonder if the voice actors also hate the new show. Of course they would never publicly admit it. A paycheck is a paycheck.

mlbv-grimm – I won't confirm who it was just yet.

Shadico – The funeral has been postponed for now, while Galfore curses in the background.


	39. Alexa's Past

Mercy led the four Titans into the vestibule outside of Luthor's office and into a nearby conference room. Much like Lex's office, it was tastefully appointed. Raven recognized most of the artwork on the walls, all of it originals and not reprints: works by Rembrandt, Goya, Monet, Wyeth and others. There was a laptop computer on the table and a remote control of the digital projector integrated into the ceiling.

"Please have a seat." She instructed them in a pleasant yet commanding voice.

Once they were seated she typed on the computer's keyboard. A picture that was obviously taken during her undergrad days showed Alexa, Tina, Janey and Beast Boy walking to one of their classes through the snow at the Fort Collins college campus.

"Dr. Pontone caught our eye several years ago, or to be more precise she and Garfield Logan did. Both were promising as future biologists and we thought that there might be a place for someone like them in LuthCorp. Of course, we knew that any attempt to recruit young Mr. Logan would be an exercise in futility for obvious reasons: he is a Spandex clad superhero for starters. And to top it off he's the sole heir to the Dayton fortune so enticing him with money was pointless. Too bad we didn't get to him earlier … he would joined us for a lousy moped."

Raven glared at Mercy. The woman didn't even flinch and she returned Raven's demonic stare with an icy one of her own. The woman couldn't be intimidated. She smiled before continuing.

"Fortunately for us, Miss Pontone was neither. She was raised by her mother, who became impregnated with her by an unfaithful boyfriend, one who ditched her and her unborn daughter when he learned the news."

Mercy pressed a clicker and the image switched to one of a rundown house in a dubious neighborhood.

"Dr. Pontone grew up in grinding poverty and she quickly understood the lesson of self sufficiency. Unfortunately for her she had mediocre grades in high school because she had to work from an early age. It also didn't help that she attended mediocre schools in Greeley, Colorado. She barely achieved admission to Colorado State. She unfortunately had a drug conviction in high school so she didn't qualify for federal grants or loans, and was forced to borrow on the private market at high interest rates to finance her education. By the time she completed her undergrad degree she was over $100,000 in debt."

Mercy flipped through several images, all of Alexa with various male undergrads.

"One thing Dr. Pontone did have going for her, besides her brains, was her natural beauty. Unfortunately she didn't know how to use it to ingratiate herself with wealthy and powerful men who could have made her undergrad years less financially challenging, and instead wasted it on casual flings with losers who had nothing more to offer other her than their prowess in the bedroom … this of course included your husband, Mrs. Logan, though for reasons that remain unknown to us she waited literally until the last minute to seduce the man you eventually married."

Raven gave Mercy another glare.

"My remarks are not meant as a putdown, Dr. Roth. We know that your husband's fidelity to you is rock solid and unlike Alexa's other lovers he certainly isn't a loser … anyway, getting back to Dr. Pontone … she was graduating broke, with no job or income and over $100,000 in student loans to pay back … she wasn't in a good place."

The image switched to a picture of Alexa strolling along the Columbia University campus.

"Some say that dreams do come true, and in Alexa's case they did. We discovered her, thanks to your husband who of course was very visible. We offered to pay off her student loans and fully fund her graduate education and provide her with a very generous stipend for her living expenses."

"What did you want from her?" Nightwing asked.

"We had a few conditions. First of all, the one night stands and friends with benefits had to stop. They were simply too distracting for her. She tried having a steady boyfriend, which we accepted as we hoped it would have a stabilizing effect on her. It did not, within weeks she was cheating on him …"

Raven crossed her arms. "Once a slut, always a slut." She murmured to herself.

"… so we demanded that she be celibate until she received her PhD."

Raven snorted. "Did she?"

"We kept a close watch on her and she understood that with one more slip we would revoke our sponsorship and use our influence to get her expelled from Columbia … her dreams would be shattered and she knew it, so she toed the company line."

"You said that there was another condition." Nightwing interrupted.

"Yes, we wanted her to specialize in immunology, and we funded he research generously. Of course any intellectual property would belong to LuthCorp."

"Of course, that goes without saying." Cyborg grumbled.

"Mr. Stone, we invested millions in her research, which was looking very promising. Unfortunately we were unable to capitalize on it. We lost over 40 million dollars."

"That couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people." Raven grinned. "I wish I could have been involved somehow."

Mercy turned off the projector. "In a way you were involved, all of you, though indirectly."

"What did we do?" Starfire asked.

"Quite simple, really. You all encouraged Beast Boy to become a biologist."

Raven became wide eyed. "The canine vaccine … Alexa was working on it … in parallel."

Mercy nodded. "Exactly … he beat us to the punch by just 8 days. And of course, CSU released the vaccine into the public domain. We estimate that he cost us almost 3 billion in profits. We did recover some of it by enhancing the vaccine and by manufacturing it, but the net profit was a fraction of what it could have been."

"So what does Alexa want with our friend?" Starfire asked.

Mercy drummed her fingers on the conference table. "We don't know … we think she's deranged. Maybe she thinks she can force him to be her mate."

"What about the boy?" Raven asked. "What do you know about him?"

"Very little. After she started grad school she took a sabbatical, she claimed that it was for personal reasons and that she would make up for the lost time when she returned. When she returned 8 months later she had the green baby."

"So … is it really hers?"

"We have no idea and she erased hers and the child's genomes from our databases. By any chance would you have a sample of her DNA?"

"No … we don't." Cyborg replied morosely. "But we do have Mark's DNA … we have confirmed that he's BB's son."

"We suspected as much." Mercy replied.

"So, do you have any tips on where to look for her?" Raven asked with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

"I'm afraid not. We already dispatched private agents to all the places we suspected she might be: with her mother, relatives, known friends, former lovers, etc. She has simply vanished off the map. That's why we want your help."

Nightwing pursed his lips while he nodded. "Thanks, I guess that will have to do."

Mercy handed him a flash drive. "Here is her full dossier and a list of where we already looked."

The bodyguard escorted the Titans to the main lobby and politely wished them good luck. The four heroes trudged back to the old T-Car and got in. Raven was the first to speak up.

"Coming here was a waste of time."

"Actually … it wasn't." Nightwing replied. "We know she stole a lot of secrets, and she can't just sell them on Craigslist, can she? She has a new protector, someone who can put those secrets to use."

"Like who? Dr. Sivana? Brother Blood? The Brotherhood of Evil?" Cyborg asked.

Nightwing shook his head. "I'm thinking of someone else."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The ride back to Cyborg's father's house was a quiet one, until the tin man finally broke the silence. "You always think it's Slade. It could have been the Brotherhood of Evil; Madam Rouge could have disguised herself as Alexa or someone."

"I don't think so; the sign out log doesn't show any duplicate departures." Nightwing replied. "Everyone has been accounted for, except for Garfield."

"Maybe he is still in the facility." Starfire suggested.

"I didn't sense him." Raven interjected. "He isn't there; somehow, they got him out."

"But why Slade?" Victor asked.

"He was out to get us during the crisis. He put a bounty on our heads and got away with it."

"Slade is always out to get us." Starfire remarked.

"Precisely. Look, Dr. Sivana won't touch Luthor's trade secrets; he'd be risking a huge lawsuit. Brother Blood is in jail. The Doom Patrol has the Brotherhood on the run … shit … I still haven't told them yet about Garfield." Grayson moaned. "Rita is gonna kill me."

"So that leaves Slade." Raven sighed. "And if Rita is going to kill anyone, it's me for not being there with him when he went back to the lab."

"Look on the bright side Raven, Slade is probably planning on using Beast Boy as bait to trap the rest of us, which means he's alive."

"So we wait for Slade to contact us." She frowned.

"There's no point in searching for him when we know he'll contact us, though I expect that he will make us wait."

"If it is Slade." She replied.

"I'm certain of it."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_Back in Steele City, a few hours later._

Raven wrapped Coraline up snugly in a receiving blanket after feeding her. The infant's face looked serene and calm, she was blissfully unaware of the turmoil that ruled in her mother's mind. Raven delicately caressed the tuft of green hair that grew from her gray scalp before placing her in her crib.

No one had contacted them yet, as Dick had predicted, and probably wouldn't for some time. Raven placed her index and middle fingers on Coraline's forehead and whispered a spell. The infant's eyelids suddenly became heavy and she yawned, and she fell asleep within seconds.

"Forgive me, my daughter, but right now I need to meditate in the worst way possible …. Without interruptions" She whispered as she caressed her again.

Raven then sat on the bed and crossing her legs she adopted the Lotus position and closed her eyes. After humming her mantra for a few seconds she opened her eyes and was once again in the green meadow. This time the sky above was dark and stormy and there was a chill in the air.

She looked around, searching for her emoticlones, but found none. The only sound was that of the wind, which blew hard and cold, chilling Raven to the bone. Braving the lightning flashes overhead she took to sky and became airborne and flew over the countryside, but found no trace or sign of any of them. She continued to fly and as she went deeper into her psyche she saw something in the distance, something she had never seen before in Nevermore: The Jump City Tower.

She picked up the pace and got closer to the Tower, which was perched on an island in the middle of a small lake. As she drew near she heard someone wailing and quickly recognized the voice: it was Rage. The crimson emoticlone saw Raven approached and turned to face.

"I'll kill her! The bitch! If even just one hair is missing from his scalp I'll rip her apart and feed her to wolves!"

Raven calmly landed in front of Rage. "So much for not loving him, I thought you just wanted his body."

"You shut up! This is your fault, 100%. Now Slade has our Beastie Boo! How can you be so calm at a moment like this … and for the record: I don't love him, I just wanna have sex with him."

"Yeah, you tell yourself that. As for why I am so calm? Because anger is pointless."

"Sure, that's why you told Cyborg you'd kill her if he was hurt."

"That was you telling him that." Raven rebuked her. "Have I told you how hard it is to suppress you?"

"More than once." Rage replied in a huff. "But don't tell me that you don't want to kill her … remember the last time another blond threatened him? Do you remember what you told her?"

Raven turned away and frowned. "That if she hurt him, it would be the last thing she ever did."

"Good … you're not in denial."

"Leave me alone … I'm tired of fighting with you."

"We aren't fighting, because I'm part of you."

"You don't define who I am."

"You're half demon, Raven, no one defines you more than I do."

The sorceress bristled. "That's not true."

"It is and you know it."

"Gar, would never approve of it, we could end up losing him."

"He'll deal with it and we won't lose him."

Raven raised her right hand, which bristled with dark energy.

"Be gone."

Black lightning emerged from her fingertips, enveloping the crimson emoticlone, which slowly faded away.

"That was a close call; of course you know she'll be back." A voice surprised her from behind

Raven turned and found herself facing the emoticlone known to her as Love.

"It has always been a never ending battle with her. Gar was insane to marry me. I am a monster."

"We are not a monster, Raven, and our beloved was not insane to choose us, but if we do what Rage suggests he will be hurt and you are right, we could lose him."

Raven sighed unhappily. "I might lose him anyway … and if I do, I can't promise to be able to stop Rage."

"You won't snap." Brave interrupted. "But we won't get that far. Nothing's going to happen to our Beastie Boo." Brave cracked her knuckles. "Of course, we're still gonna kick Alexa's sad ass after we get him back ... we won't kill her … as tempting as it might be."

"So addition to being Valor, you're also Optimism?"

"You'd better believe it, Raven. We go hand in hand."

"Where is everyone else?"

"In the Tower." Love gestured at the T shaped building.

Raven turned her gaze at the familiar building. "I always felt safe there … so … I want to feel safe now."

"We are afraid of losing him." Love reminded her.

"Ain't gonna happen." Brave retorted. "I don't care what kind of trap Slade sets for us, we're gonna beat him and get our man back, safe and sound."

"Raven, wake up!" Starfire's voice came out of nowhere. "Slade is contacting us, hurry!"

Raven opened her eyes and was back in her guest room. Starfire was levitating in front of her, with her hands on her shoulders.

"So Dick was right."

"Come, Slade is waiting for you."

"Does he have …"

"Yes, he does … we have seen him. He is unharmed."

Raven scooped up her sleeping daughter and placed her in the sling.

"Let's go."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Time to get up, sleepyhead!"

The changeling groaned as the effect of the narcotic had yet to wear off. It took a brief moment for him to remember where he was and when he did he quickly sat up. He blinked his eyes a few times until they came into focus, and he recognized the young woman standing before him. He groaned a second time as he rubbed his head, doing his best to chase the cobwebs away.

"Rose Wilson, right?" He finally spoke in a groggy voice.

The platinum blond smirked back at him. "You're still recovering from the dart?"

"You could say that."

She chuckled. "You really are unremarkable without your powers, little green man."

He ignored the insult. "What do you and your dad want with me?"

"What do we always want?"

"You tell me, you were just a kid when we fought with your dad."

"We want the same thing as always, Garfield."

"That's a big surprise … you know I won't cooperate with you."

"We can persuade you."

"I'm not afraid of you … do your worst." He replied angrily.

"You have spirit … I like that. Too bad you're too old for me."

"I'm already taken … in case you change your mind."

"Don't worry, greenie, I won't. But daddy wants to see you … so come along; we don't want to keep him waiting."

Rose grabbed Gar's wrist with a pincer like grasp that was so strong that it hurt. He instinctive reached for the power cancellation collar and tugged at it.

"No, no! That says on, puke face." She grinned. "So, do you like being manhandled by a girl without any powers?"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"What do you think? Now hurry up, I can throw you over my shoulder if you want."

"I'll pass."

He followed Rose out of his cell into a dark, concrete hallway.

"Where are we?"

"In a place where your friends will never find us, so forget about being rescued."

"You still haven't told me what you want from me."

They reached the end of the hallway and she opened the door, gesturing him to enter first.

"Daddy will explain everything … and trust me … you won't like it."

The changeling entered the room and was immediately flanked by two Slade-bots that aimed their laser pistols at him. Slade was sitting on what looked like a throne made of stone and was being served tea by an elderly butler.

"Who's the geezer, Slade?"

The butler bristled at the changeling's taunt. "The name is Wintergreen, you green idiot. If I was you I would watch my mouth, in case you have forgotten, you are our prisoner." The older man replied with a stuffy accent.

Slade leaned forward in his chair. "Well, well, the formerly mighty Beast Boy is now my prisoner."

"Get to the point Slade, what do you want from me? Whatever it is, I won't cooperate."

Slade rose from his throne and approached the changeling.

"Bold words from a weakling."

"Take this collar off of me, and we'll see who the weakling is."

"I always loved your bravado, unlike Robin's you don't wear it on your sleeve, which makes it so much more interesting when you show it. I remember when you came for Terra … you actually talked her into resisting me … and it cost me my life."

"Yeah … too bad Trigon saved you."

"And it was a good thing he did. Had it not been for me, Robin would never have found Raven and the world would have been lost."

"Enough of the small talk, what do you want, Slade?"

"I want you to work for me."

The changeling laughed. "You're joking, why would I do that? There's no way you could talk me into that."

"You do have loved ones."

"You know better than to mess with Raven."

Slade chuckled. "Who's talking about Raven? You are quite right though, going against her would be nearly suicidal. I have someone else in mind."

A video screen on the wall came to life. Gar suppressed a gasp when he saw Alexa pacing around in a cell much like his own. Slade pressed a button on a mini console strapped to his forearm.

"Good morning, Dr. Pontone. I hope you slept well."

"I demand that you let me out of here!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I need to keep you."

"Who are you!?" She screamed defiantly.

"You can call me Slade."

Alexa shrunk away from the camera in her cell.

"You mean the Slade?"

"Yes, Doctor, the Slade. And I have a friend of yours here with me. Go ahead, she can hear you."

A confused look appeared on the bombshell's face.

"Alexa! Are you OK?"

"Gar? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you OK? Did he hurt you?"

"No … I'm fine … but I don't know where Mark is. They took him away. Gar … I'm scared!"

"It's gonna be OK, Alexa, I'll get us out of this."

He then turned to Slade. "Where is he!? I want to see my son!"

Slade raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. A door slid open and a Slade-bot, carrying Mark, entered the room. The boy saw his father and began to cry. Slade nodded and the robot put the child down. Mark ran to his father and picked him up.

"He's here Alexa, he looks OK, but he's scared." Gar informed her as he attempted to soothe the wailing child.

"If you wish for the boy and his mother to remain unharmed, you will obey me."

"But …"

"No buts, this is not open for negotiation, Garfield."

"But you know that the Titans will try to stop me."

"I know; which is why we will now have a heart to heart with Nightwing and his friends."

"What are you going to tell them?"

"How does your generation say it? Ah yes! I will tell them that you're my bitch now and if they interfere that you, Dr. Pontone and little Mark will meet a grisly end … so Garfield … what do you say?"

The changeling glared at Slade. "This always blows up in your face, Slade, and it won't be any different this time around."

"I will take that as a yes."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Raven and Starfire teleported into the common room, stepping out of one of Raven's black portals. Slade's masked face stared down at them from the giant TV screen.

"Raven! I'm so glad you could our little confab." He greeted her in his signature monotone.

"What have you done to him Slade! I swear, if he's suffered any harm I'll …"

Slade raised a hand in a conciliatory gesture. "I assure, dear Raven, that he's just fine."

"I want to see him!"

The camera panned back and the group could see Beast Boy holding Mark in his arms, with Rose standing next to him.

"He's telling the truth, I'm OK, except for this stupid power cancelling collar. But don't make any deals with him!"

"We won't." Nightwing agreed.

Slade chuckled. "Oh, I think you will, Nightwing. Look at you, all grown up. I miss the traffic light suit. I have to say, your replacement in Jump City, the new Robin, I like his outfit much better than your old one. Still, no one can take your place, my former apprentice."

"What do you want, Slade?"

"I want you, and the new team in the Jump City Tower, to stay out of my way."

"So, I take your TV career is officially over. Godfrey was quick to disown you once the truth came out."

"You know what they say, Nightwing, you live and you die by your ratings. But you didn't respond to my demand."

"No dice, Slade. We won't just stand by."

"What a shame. Did you know that Dr. Pontone is also my prisoner? Now I know that Raven doesn't have warm fuzzies for the doctor. But as you have already seen, the boy is also my prisoner."

Raven's eyes glowed as crimson red. "You will release my husband and his son … immediately."

Slade chuckled. "How endearing, the protective wife and stepmother. I never knew you had it in you, Raven … but I won't be releasing anyone ... not today."

"You know that we will eventually rescue them." Cyborg growled.

"Yes, you always do. So you see, my arrangement is meant to be temporary. After it is complete, I will return them to you, unharmed."

"What is this arrangement you speak of, Slade?" Starfire asked.

"It's quite simple; Beast Boy will be my new apprentice. And if he refuses or if the Titans interfere in any way … the boy and his mother will die. And you won't be able to rescue them, they will be kept in a separate and secret location. If anything happens my daughter Rose will execute them … it's that simple."

"You've gone too far this time; you're going to pay for this!" Raven shouted.

Slade crossed his arms in a smug and victorious gesture.

"Now, now, Raven, if you want your little baby to have a father when she grows up, then you'd better do exactly as I say."

Raven's jaw trembled, but she did not reply.

"So, Nightwing, do we have a deal?"

"How long will this last?"

"No longer than a year."

"A year? You gotta be joking?" Cyborg shouted.

"Cyborg, you should know by now that I never joke … this is my final offer, if you reject it, they die, all three of them."

Nightwing's shoulders slumped. "Ok, you have a deal."

_**-( scene break )-**_

A special shout out to BizkitRebellion1. Thanks for uploading all the preview clips! Speaking of which, the "date" episode is airing on Cartoon Network next week. Will it be pure BBRaeness … or will it end in disaster? My money is on disaster! This is Jelenic we're talking about, not Glen Murakami.

So, is Dick really giving into Slade, or does he have a plan?

And now it's mailbag time.

elixxxrAngel - Since Alexa is Slade's prisoner, who knows?

Bluedog197 – I was wondering where you where … just kidding!

Sweetums14 – Rage wants to kill a lot of people. Will Raven be able to keep her in check?

Kidstandout – Right now, Luthor is the least of their worries.

ToraHimeSama – Raven has a lot of butts to kick!

Xxmatriarch – Yeah, I kind of figured it was that.

GDomarina – Have you ever met a real world Alexa? I think we all have.

Adventuresstime - I wouldn't count her out, not yet.

EP – Detention! OK, what did you do?

Danii B – I have to apologize. I seem to be running slow lately.

ShadowChaser – So, did I? I do recall some people thinking that Alexa was in cahoots with Slade, but right now she's his prisoner, along with poor little Marky.

titanfan45 – I was always bummed that as douchy as Galfore was in "Betrothed" that he never apologized to Robin. I guess you can only squeeze so much into a 24 minute episode. Of course with the new show it's even worse, only 12 minutes.

JasonVUK - Who's got him? Who else? Grayson must be going bonkers, knowing that Slade has him over a barrel.

Katt In The Boxx - Now we have to wonder if it really was Alexa, and if it was her, how did they wind up in Slade's clutches?

Fl4mingTurd – Galfore isn't gonna be happy when Star says she can't go back to Tamaran.

greenhatred77 – A great theory, but not this time.

TW – What else? Slade of course.

Soulsurfer2112 – BB would make a great thief with his shapeshifting powers. Slade's gotta like that.

JOHNXgambit – Lex is pragmatic, that is for sure. I loved it when Bruce Wayne cut him out of a deal in Superman: The Animated Series, the three episode arc "World's Finest." Clark also gets bent out of shape when Lois falls for Bruce!

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – If there is one thing Grayson learned from Bruce it was to keep his cool.

Shadico – I never liked Galfore. He was a jerk in the show, except with Star.

Ravenandthefire – No one likes Alexa!

The Cretin – I guess she see's Grayson as a brother figure, so maybe that's why she wasn't so modest around him. Plus she was having fun messing with his mind!

Just a Thinker – Yeah, her half brothers were fairly recent in the comics. Together they were the seven deadly sins, with Raven being Pride if IIRC.

Anoymous136 – It has to burn Galfore that his little Kori married a circus brat.

BartWLewis - I think Raven has plenty of reasons to kick Alexa's well shaped butt.

7SheWolfShaman7 – Spoiler – Frassa'd's motive will never be discovered.

DeeThom – It's hard to bring Supes into a story. He's too darn strong. In the comics Kori gets into a fight with Supes (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies). Kal kicks her butt. Big surprise.

Chayse-man – While it was kind of downplayed on the show, they had moments in the show when the closeness of their friendship did shine through.

Skyblue271 – I'm glad you find it that way.

JasonTodd908 – The reception for the rewrite for Carved has been lukewarm, so it's on the back burner for now.


	40. Apprenticeship

Nightwing's shoulders slumped. "Ok, you have a deal."

"See, I knew you could be reasoned with." Slade replied in his monotone. "Now that wasn't so hard was it?"

Nightwing clenched his teeth and balled his fists.

"You'll pay for this, Slade. No one messes with my family."

"Don't make threats you can't make good on, boy wonder."

Cyborg crossed his arms and glared at the one eyed villain. "So what's next?"

"We'll be in touch." Slade replied before cutting the connection.

The changeling watched the screen in Slade's lair go blank before reverting to displaying Slade's angular 'S' symbol. Still carrying his son, he turned to face the man who singlehandedly over the years had caused the Titans so much trouble and grief.

"What do you really want with me, Slade? I don't buy your apprentice story for a second."

Slade leaned back, grabbing the armrests on his throne with his hands.

"You are quite right, Logan. I know that you would never join my little gang, and besides, I already have an apprentice, my daughter Rose, the Ravager."

"So why am I so important to your plans that you're blackmailing me by threatening my son?"

"And your ex." Slade added.

"She isn't my ex, but if you hurt either of them, I swear that you'll pay for it."

"So you did have something with the blonde bombshell … and yet you married gray and plain Raven." Slade chuckled. "You never struck me as someone who would settle for less, and yet you married the most undesirable girl in town."

"If you're trying to piss me off, it's working. Why don't you just get to the point, Slade? What do you really want from me?"

Slade leaned forward. Rose stood next to him, crossing her arms and grinning.

"I need your talents, Beast Boy. You remember how I used Robin as my personal thief? He wasn't very good at it. I think you'll be much better."

"You want me to steal stuff for you? You want me to become a common thief."

"Oh, there will be nothing common about what you'll steal for me. And you will do a great job if you value your son's safety."

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know that you won't just kill us once you don't need me anymore?"

"Well, you see, you don't know that."

Gar gritted his teeth. "You're asking for a lot, Slade."

"Actually, I'm going to toss you a bone."

"What do you mean?" He asked in clearly skeptical tone.

"I'm going to let you live at home."

"What?"

"That's right Logan, every night, assuming you don't get caught by the police and they don't identify you, you'll be able to curl up with your mousy little wife. But when I summon you, you will respond."

"That's insane! You don't really expect that I'll be some kind of on call thief?"

"That is exactly what I expect of you, unless you'd rather spend your free time in one of my cells, wearing that collar when you aren't out working for me. So you see, Logan, I can be very reasonable."

"And when will I see Mark?"

"You can visit him once a week. Our location will remain a secret, changeling, and you won't be allowed to visit my secret lair without a collar around your neck."

The changeling mulled his offer. He hated the idea of leaving Mark behind, but he also knew that Raven and Coraline needed him. Plus if he wasn't imprisoned, maybe they could find out where the lair was located and rescue Mark and Alexa.

"OK, I'll do it. But this changes nothing, Slade. You're just a thug and when I get the chance, I'll get back at you."

"I would expect nothing less. I want you to return to Jump City, once you are thee, Ravager will train you for a month before you attempt your first burglary. Here are your instructions on how we will contact you." Slade handed him an envelope. The changeling opened it and read the note inside.

"I see you thought of everything."

"I always do … and before you leave … send my regards to Raven."

Before Garfield could reply, Rose took Mark from him just before a Slade-bot tasered him, knocking him out cold. She handed the wailing child to her father and placed a black bag over Beast Boy's head and picked him up, throwing him over her shoulder.

"Take him back to the Steele City Tower." He handed her a small envelope. "And leave this note with him for Nightwing."

"Dad … are you sure this is a good idea?"

Mark continued to bawl, calling out to his father.

"Rose, there is a saying … when a man has a child, he is no longer free. It doesn't matter where Logan lives and the truth is that it's better if he doesn't stay with us at all. But we control him; he will do as we say, without question. Now go and take him back to his wife."

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Garfield? Garfield! Can you hear me?" A fuzzy voice called out.

"Where did you find him?" A second voice asked.

"He was lying unconscious next to the dock." A third voice responded.

Beast Boy groaned and tried to sit up.

"Take it easy B, you're still pumped full of sedatives."

The changeling rubbed his forehead and moaned. "Where am I?"

The infirmary door slid open and Raven came charging in. Starfire, carrying Coraline in her arms, was right behind her. The sorceress wrapped her arms around her spouse.

"Thank Azar you're safe! … He is OK, right?"

Cyborg smiled. "Relax little lady, I already checked him out. He's still recovering from a hefty dose of a sedative cocktail, one strong enough to knock out an elephant. Now that the collar's gone, his regular metabolism should clear him up fast."

"Slade …" The changeling moaned.

"Shh … just relax. You're home … you're safe." She soothed him.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Raven … Slade has my boy."

"We know." Raven replied. "How did you escape? I mean, you were drugged."

"I didn't … Slade said I could go home, and that he'd call for me when he needs me … and that's the last thing I remember … how did I get home?"

Nightwing was busy reading the note Slade sent him. He looked up from the letter. "It says here that Slade had you delivered, probably his daughter brought you back and dumped you on the dock … Garfield … it says here that you agreed to work for him as a thief …"

Grayson frowned.

"Slade has a lot of gall, doing this. This time it's personal."

"What other choice do I have? He has Mark; he's threatened to kill him."

"We'll rescue him." Nightwing growled.

"How? I don't know where he's keeping him."

"If there is anything I know about Slade is that he'll be near you. He wants you and Raven to go back to Jump and resume your civilian lives, he wants you away from us."

"What about the new team?"

"I'm sure he doesn't take them seriously … but I do … the five of us are moving back to the old Tower, and we'll find Slade's hideout and get your son back … and maybe Alexa too. And for now, you need to recover … it says here that next Monday that you're to meet Ravager in the Bad Lands to begin your training."

"The bad lands … you mean where we met Terra?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Slade's hangout is hidden somewhere in there." Grayson replied.

"The Bad Lands are over 200 square miles of canyons; it'll take forever to comb it." Raven grumbled. "And what if it's not there at all?"

"There is another option." Cyborg remarked. "You're free, so tell Slade to go screw himself."

"But he'll kill Mark!"

"I don't think so. Remember when we had the nanoprobes? Slade didn't kill us back then, and there was nothing stopping him. And you know why? Because had he killed us, he wouldn't have had anything left to control Rob with. It was the threat of killing us, not the act itself, that forced Robin into becoming Slade's apprentice."

"Cyborg, this is Mark we're talking about." Raven interjected.

"Slade knows that if hurts Mark that there will be hell to pay. He'd probably just turn Mark loose and move on."

The changeling shook his head dismissively. "No, tin man, I can't do that."

"Garfield's right. I do see your point, Cyborg, but it is too risky and we can't put Mark's life on the line."

"So you're saying that B just becomes Slade's cabana boy? That he's gonna just do Slade's bidding like you did?"

"Not if I can help it. So here's the plan. We all go back to Jump, but we move back into the Tower. Garfield, you'll train with Ravager and you need to really suck when she trains you. I want to buy as much time as possible. Hopefully we'll find Slade's lair before you have to steal anything for him."

_**-( scene break )-**_

Wonder Girl, Speedy and Jinx crowded around Raven, beaming happily.

"I called dibs; I get to hold her first!" Wonder Girl shouted.

Raven smiled as she passed Coraline to the blond Titan. Cassie smiled at the infant.

"She's so pretty! Don't you just love the way a baby smells … when she has a clean diaper? She makes me want to have one of my own!"

Raven responded with an alarmed look. "You and Connor, you're too young …"

"Relax Raven; Connor is half Kryptonian, it's impossible for us to have kids."

Raven smirked. "That's what I used to think, never say never, Cassie."

Mia, the new Speedy, delicately caressed the infant's forehead. "Raven … she's adorable, she looks just like you, well, except for the green hair and eyes."

Raven smiled. "I think it's a bit early to say she looks like me."

"Being a mom, with the HIV, that was out of the question for me. Thanks to your husband, I can be a mom someday."

Raven nodded. "Yes, I heard that the vaccine also cures all forms of HIV infections and that you're healed. Congratulations."

Gar and Wally were in the kitchen, doing their second favorite thing: eating junk food.

"So BB, what's it like to be a dad?"

His ears drooped. "It's a big burden."

"Sorry, I know you're worried about Mark."

"I only met him a few weeks ago, and yet I feel like I've always known him."

"Raven looks happy." Wally interjected.

The changeling smiled. "Yeah, she is. But she's also worried about Mark, even though he isn't hers."

"That's some lady you married, Gar, she's a real keeper."

"I know … people only see her professional side, she can be intimidating … but she's a lot more than that. So how are things between you and Jinx?"

"She's been talking about having a kid, thanks to you guys."

"Talking?"

"More like telling me that we're gonna have one. I don't know that I'm ready for this, BB, this is scary stuff."

The changeling snickered.

"What's so funny?"

"We've fought psychopathic villains and hideous monsters, but what are we afraid of? We're afraid of being dads."

The main common room doors opened and Jinx entered the common room and made a bee line to Raven. The two women exchanged a hug and the pink haired hextress had her turn holding the baby. Wally gulped as he watched. She turned in his direction and smiled.

"You're doomed, Wally." Gar remarked.

"I know … resistance is futile."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The Logans entered Raven's old room in the Jump City Tower. The first thing they saw was a crib with a large bow tied onto it. A small card on a changing table, next to the crib, identified Jinx as the gift giver. Raven smiled after reading the card and handing it to her husband. Gar read it and also smiled.

"Who would have ever thought back in the old days then that Jinx would someday give us baby furniture?" He asked.

"And who would have thought she would someday live here without having to steal the Tower from its legitimate owners?" She replied.

"I don't know how he did it, but Wally somehow pulled it off. He turned a villain into a hero. And now, a hero is going to become a crook."

"Don't say that. Slade's blackmailing you. It doesn't count."

Gar sat down on the edge of his bed. "It won't be the first time I was a thief."

"Gar … you were a child and were kidnapped by criminals … that doesn't count either."

The changeling sighed. "Sometimes I wish we could have been ordinary people."

"We would never have met."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. Had that monkey never bit you, you'd never have come to Jump. You probably wouldn't even be alive because …" She stopped herself.

"It's OK, Rave … and you're right … I would have died with my parents in the waterfall accident and we never would have met."

"I wouldn't be here either. My mother was thinking of aborting me. Had the monks of Azarath not intervened, and they wouldn't have had I been an ordinary girl, I wouldn't have ever been born."

"I know … it's so unfair, why can't we have a good life?"

"Gar … we do have a good life … we're going to get Mark back."

"Back? Wouldn't Alexa just end up keeping him?"

"We'll work on that later … he's just as much yours as he is hers."

"You've been a good sport about Mark … you care so much about him."

Raven nodded. "Somehow, I just don't think of him as being her son."

"I feel that way too … I just had a horrible thought."

"What is it?"

"What if Slade doesn't want to give him back, what if he keeps him?"

A horrified look appeared on her face.

"You mean, like an apprentice?"

"Yeah, maybe I'm not the apprentice, maybe Mark is. Slade wants to turn my son against me."

Raven frowned. "That's not going to happen. We're getting our boy back."

Beast Boy smiled. "Our boy?"

"OK, so he isn't really mine. We already know that."

He pulled Raven into a tender kiss.

"Thanks … sweetheart … that means so much to me."

She returned his kiss. "You've never called me that before … sweetheart?"

He kissed her again. "As Chrome Dome would say … it's about time … so, do you have secret pet name for me?"

She blushed. "Uh … you don't want to know."

"So you do have one!"

"I didn't say that."

"Oh yes you did. So what is it?"

"I don't want to tell you … it's dumb."

"How could it be dumb?"

"Because it is."

"OK, now you have to tell me, Rae-Rae."

"Don't call me that."

"I will if you don't tell me."

Raven groaned. "You're 29 years old and without skipping a heart beat you can switch back into that annoying 15 year old you used to be."

"Yeah … it's one of my many talents … Rae-Rae."

Raven heaved a huge sigh. "OK, I'll tell you, but if you laugh …"

"I won't … Scout's Honor."

"You never were a boy scout."

"Just tell me!"

"Fine … you're … Beastie Boo."

"Beastie Boo?"

"I told you it was dumb."

"No it isn't, I like it. How long has it been your secret pet name for me?"

Raven blushed even more. "Since the Gordanian incident."

"That was 14 years ago."

"Yes, I know, now can we change the subject?" She asked with a hint of edginess in her voice.

"Sorry … I'm just trying to not think about tomorrow."

"You know that I'm coming with you."

"You are? Why?"

"Because I don't trust Ravager. We don't know anything about her. I even asked Jericho what he knew about her. Turns out they have different mothers … he's never met her."

"She's Slade's daughter … and unlike Jericho she takes after her father."

"Which is why I don't trust her."

"And neither do I … but wouldn't your time be better spent searching for Slade's hideout?"

"Dick's in charge of that, and you know him, he's already obsessing, big time. He'll find it, he always does."

"I guess you're right." He sighed.

He turned off the lights and rolled over on his side, facing away from Raven. She curled up to him and spooned him, wrapping an arm around his chest.

"We're getting our Mark back, Gar, that's a promise." She whispered into his ear. "And if Alexa rejects joint custody, I'll send her to another dimension."

_**-( scene break )-**_

_The next morning …_

"So Slade Wilson is involved. That is an unfortunate twist of events, but not surprising, given the past history between him and your team."

"Yes, Luthor, I am aware that Slade is our nemesis." Nightwing replied. "I was just wondering if you had any intel on him you'd like to share?"

"I was under the impression that you were the Slade experts."

"We are, but he's been flying below the radar for years. When he showed up on the G. Gordon Godfrey show we were as surprised as anyone else … didn't Godfrey once work for you?"

"Before he bolted to the Gotham News Network. You might ask Bruce Wayne what he knows."

"Mr. Wayne sold off his remaining ownership in GNN years ago. And I already spoke with Godfrey; he claims to not have a clue regarding Slade's whereabouts. That was a nice retraction he made last night on his show."

"It was … so what do you need, Nightwing?"

"I'd like to borrow some of your satellites."

"Really? Which ones?"

"The ones you rent out to foreign governments for espionage, the ones that don't officially exist. You know which ones I'm talking about."

"That might be hard to do. They are in demand, backlogged for months. And besides, Pontone is his prisoner. He'll save me the trouble of teaching her a lesson."

"He probably will, bit consider this: Slade probably has all of your trade secrets too."

"I see your point, Nightwing … I'll tell my customers that we're having some technical glitches with the satellites … they're yours for one week but not a minute longer."

_**-( scene break )-**_

A dark flying disk made its way through the labyrinth like canyon. Raven had a map in her hands and navigated flawlessly. Starfire volunteered to babysit for her and for that she was grateful, as she wanted to focus her undivided attention on the task before her.

It was only 9 AM but it was already sweltering in the Bad Lands, the sand stone walls reflected the sun's light and heat like a mirror, and it wouldn't be long before it would be hot as an oven. The Logans came prepared, and had plenty of ice cold water in a large insulated cooler. Raven looked ahead and nodded while her mate pointed. They had arrived at their destination.

It was the top of a large mesa. It was nearly perfectly flat and was the size of several football fields. Its only anomaly was a cluster of boulders at its south end. And sitting on one of the rocks, waiting for them, was Ravager.

She wasn't wearing her cowl and her long platinum blond hair flowed in the steady breeze. She grinned when they landed in front of her.

"I see that you're punctual … good." She turned to Raven. "You should leave."

"I'm staying."

"Fine, but I want to make one thing clear … if you interfere with the training in any way … the boy and his mother die."

"You can do whatever you want to her." Raven replied.

Ravager chuckled. "I've heard a lot about you, Raven. Daddy has some interesting stories about you. One thing he did tell me is that you don't know how to lie, and he's right. I know you don't like Dr. Pontone, but you would never abandon her to her doom. You might be a demoness, but you are a goody two shoes if I ever saw one and I don't need my dad to tell me that."

Raven glared at the villainess.

"So, unless you want them to end up as worm food, you will watch and nothing more. I don't care what you see happen, you cannot intervene."

"I have healing powers."

"Yes, I am aware of them. And you can't use them without my permission. If I think they are needed, I will let you know. Only then can you intervene."

Rose tapped the cooler with her foot. "You also can't give him anything to eat or drink."

"But he could dehydrate."

"If I judge that he needs water, I will say so. Otherwise you are forbidden from giving him any sustenance. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Raven seethed.

Ravager smiled. "Good, I'm glad we came to an understanding."

She turned to the changeling.

"Robin kept you in great shape while you were a Titan, but that was a long time ago. When I'm done with you, you'll be a lean mean fighting machine and not the doughy scientist you've become."

"I worked out while I was in school."

"And that's why you aren't a lost cause … but tell me Logan, when was the last time you sparred? And I don't mean any of that sissy sparring where you wear pads … yes, I know you were on the Tae Kwon Do team when you were a student. You're a sixth dan black belt. But you and I know that's amateur stuff. You learned how to fight, how to really fight, when you were in the Doom Patrol and Robin continued to train you until you left the Titans … and now I'm going to finish the job. When your training is done, your technique will be flawless."

"What is the point of this? We all know that it's his shape shifting ability that you need for your heists."

Rose glared at Raven.

"The point, witch, is that he needs to be in top shape, both physically and mentally. He's always relied too much on his powers; of course the same could be said of you. I'd love to whip your flabby gray butt into shape, but that'll have to wait for another time."

"Don't call me a witch, Slade-Girl."

"Slade-Girl? I like that." Rose chuckled.

Rose turned to face Garfield.

"I want to start with an assessment sparring session. I've seen footage of you sparring in College, but I want to see what you can do in the real world. And this is 'no powers' sparring. I know you're stronger than a regular human, but don't worry, so am I. So don't hold back, because I sure won't."

Rose adopted a fighting stance and smiled. The changeling frowned before easing into a back stance, ready to fight.

"Spar!" Rose shouted as she lunged at him.

Even when in his human form Beast Boy had superhuman reflexes, which was fortunate as Rose was incredibly fast and strong. Within seconds she made her first contact, a round house kick to his ribs, which he partially blocked, absorbing most of the impact with his forearm with a low block.

"Not bad, Logan, not bad at all." Rose laughed. "Now show me what you got."

Gar exploded into a series of lightning fast jabs, all of which Rose successfully dodged or blocked.

"You're too slow, Logan, you've spent too much time sitting at a desk." Rose taunted him.

The sparring match continued for several minutes. Beast Boy managed to connect a few hits on Rose, but she didn't even flinch and always returned a barrage of strikes, many of them connected and they did some damage. Soon Beast Boy's face was bloodied, but he didn't relent, even though it was clear that he was beginning to tire.

"See, you don't have any stamina. Come on, Logan! You're looking bad, what is your little witch wife gonna think if I totally kick your ass? She might have to get herself a real man." Rose taunted him.

"He's more man than you can handle, bitch."

Rose connected a round house kick to Beast Boy's temple, and he collapsed onto the sandy ground. Raven rushed forward, but stopped herself. Rose grinned maliciously at the sorceress.

"I can handle him just fine … I'll bet he sucks in bed too."

Raven's eyes turned crimson red and Rose began to laugh. That was when Beast Boy, who was still on his back, kicked her legs out from under her. As she fell, he back fisted her, connecting his knuckles with her face just as she hit the ground, landing right next to him. A loud crack was heard when his fist hit her nose and Rose yelped both in surprise and in pain. Raven subtly pumped her right arm and muttered 'yes' under her breath.

Beast Boy leaped to his feet, ready to continue the fight. Rose wiped the blood off of her face.

"Not bad, Logan, you broke my nose. You took advantage of my distraction. Good job … maybe you are good in bed after all."

She turned to Raven. "Go ahead, heal him and give him some water. After that you can fix my nose."

Beast Boy relaxed from his fighting stance. Raven approached him, walking past Ravager.

"Just for your information, bitch … he's fantastic in bed." Raven whispered as she passed.

"Aren't you gonna tell me that he's well endowed too?" Rose sneered.

"You have no idea … he's huge. Bigger than anything you've ever seen." Raven trash talked her.

"I've seen a lot, witch."

Raven ignored the rest of Ravager's remarks and tended to her husband's injuries, her blue light made its appearance. Rose watched them from a distance.

"He does have spirit. He didn't give up … I like that." Rose muttered to herself before grinning. "Now I need to break that spirit."

_**-( scene break )-**_

OK, that wasn't a great chapter, but some things need to happen before the interesting stuff begins.

Also, I am really touched. When I resurrected this story, I never expected it to be so popular. So, to express my gratitude, I'm actually giving something tangible away.

I have a copy of "Teen Titans Spotlight: Raven". It's a 128 page graphic novel story about Raven going undercover to high school. Now before you get too excited, this is comic book Raven, not TV Raven. Also, the artwork is kind of funky. Still, she is recognizable as Raven. This is a solo story, Raven is alone and there are no other Titans in the book.

Now, what I'm going to do is this: I will collect a list of everyone who reviews the final chapter and put their Fan fiction names in a hat and draw a winner. Unfortunately, if you don't have a fan fic account, I won't be able to tell you if you won, so anonymous reviewers won't get a chance to win … sorry. I will wait two weeks from the date of the update to give everyone a chance (I will indicate the cutoff date in the mail bag). Also, I won't ship outside of the USA, it costs too much (sorry again).

So, let it not be said that I don't share the love!

And now, this week's mailbag!

jovanchin2013 – Actually, more like an errand boy.

JasonVUK – I wish they had used Slade more in the original show.

Adventuresstime – That would be sneaky.

Glacier – Raven is way too attached to mark to put him in danger.

TW – Slade always pushes the envelope.

Soulsurfer2112 – You never know what Slade really wants.

gabylokita41 – BB gets to commute from home. Slade wants to keep the location of his lair a secret.

BartWLewis – Raven does love Mark

titanfan45 – Maybe this time Slade won't get away?

Just a Thinker – Having back stories like Alexa's adds color to a story.

mlbv-grimm – You too, huh?

chica13 – What else? He's being Slade!

Death Stroke The Kid – Does anyone not think that Alexa is up to something?

The Cretin – I just wanted to show that Rage has a girly side.

Chayse-man – You too?

JOHNXgambit – You were close. But it's Rose who is training him.

Shadico - I guess it has to be one or the other.

krostovikraven1 – Raven definitely won't wait.

Katt In The Box – Yeah, just who did kidnap him? Was it Rose in disguise?

Hairul The Nightrage Beast - Yeah, Slade wasn't a good dad in the comics

Anoymous136 – Slade will have a lot of folks angry with him. But since when did ever care?

Bluedog197 – Lex can be a stalker, he wants to know everything he can

7SheWolfShaman7 – "I'M GOING IN THERE MYSELF AND KILLING SLADE!" – Take a number!

TJSC25 – Nothing like the first week of school!

DeeThom – It's always good to be lucky.

Iskandar06 – Gosh, I feel so needed!

SuperNolon – Part one of the plan is to find the lair.

Ravenandthefire – Alexa probably doesn't agree.

Kidstandout – Thanks!

Dragonkyng – spoilerSomeone is going to die./spoiler


	41. Deception

The flying black went almost unnoticed by the local citizens, who for the most part were too busy with their midday rush to raise their heads to sky. The few who did see it noticed that two people were riding it back to the now reactivated Tower on Titans Island.

The city didn't get to see a great deal of the Tower's new occupants, who had only recently begun to venture out of the Tower, led by The Flash and Jinx on training missions where they took on light weight law breakers. There were rumors of new villains popping up; ones to replace the now incarcerated ones from the past. Control Freak and Mumbo were no longer a threat, but new villains, such as the explosives crazy Bombtastic and the pheromone wielding Scent had appeared on the scene. There was even an editorial in the local newspaper which complained that superheroes attracted supervillains, and that both had big egos that demanded the presence of the other, like ying and yang forces, permanently intertwined in a circle.

For the moment Garfield Logan was glad almost no one noticed him, as he did not look or feel, as Starfire would have said in her teen years, glorious. His signature fang that protruded from his mouth was missing and Raven was holding it in her hand. She would help him grow it back later that night, with a combination of magic, her healing blue light and his own regenerative powers. Ravager removed it from his mouth with a well placed spinning heel kick.

The missing fang wasn't the only damage he incurred at her hand. Both of his eyes were black, he had three bruised ribs and he walked with a limp. Rose didn't get away Scott free, though. Even though he was outmatched by her he did manage to inflict some damage as well, though in the end he was the one who lost.

As noon approached Rose dismissed him for the day, telling him to work on his blocking. She then leaped off the edge of the mesa. Raven scurried to the edge and looked down. It was at least a one thousand foot drop and the side of the mesa was completely shear. There was no sign of Rose though and Raven frowned.

They finally reached the Tower and landed on the rooftop, where Cyborg and Nightwing awaited them. Cyborg had a wheelchair waiting, which Beast Boy refused.

"Dude, I know I got my butt kicked, you don't have to rub it in."

"Listen B, you took some damage. You're going straight to the infirmary." Cyborg replied.

"How does she do it?" The changeling complained as he limped to the elevator. "It's like she can read my mind, she could practically predict my every move. I can't be that bad about telegraphing my moves, am I?"

"You aren't." Nightwing interjected as they entered the lift.

"How do you know that?" Raven asked. "Did you watch?"

Nightwing explained to them how he borrowed a spy satellite from Luthor. He also told them how Ravager fired a grappling hook and swung into a cave in the mesa, from which she did not emerge.

"You know that means that Luthor sees everything you do." Raven remarked. "And that cave is not the entrance to Slade's lair. That would be too easy."

"You're right, it would be too easy. Wally and Kid Flash are exploring it right now. Somehow I doubt they will find any sign of her in that cave. As for how Beast Boy got his ass kicked, I think Rose has precognition abilities."

"You mean she can see into the future?" Gar asked in an astonished voice as they entered the infirmary.

"After watching you spar with her, I think she can predict actions by a couple of seconds. I know that doesn't sound like much, but for a skilled martial artist like herself it's an eternity, a huge advantage. There's no way you could beat her without using your powers. Even I would have a hard time with her." Nightwing remarked.

Cyborg took the changeling to a med station and began to examine him. Raven pulled Nightwing aside.

"What are we going to do? Gar can't handle too many more 'sessions' like this … if he can't use his powers she'll kill him. Why is she even doing this? This isn't training; she's just beating up on him for the Trigon of it." Raven complained.

"I think I know what she's up to. And I do have a plan."

"Well, don't keep me waiting … what is it?"

"I have a few things to work out still, I'll tell you and Gar about it later, after dinner. Right now he needs you at his side. Ravager didn't just bruise his body."

"I know, he looked destroyed when she dismissed him … this plan of yours, can't you even give me a hint?"

"It involves you."

"Me?" She replied.

"Yeah, you. We need some magic to level the playing field."

_**-( - )-**_

Ravager was grinning when the flying disk approached the mesa the next morning. Again, her cowl was down and the bruise on her left check stood out in its purple glory. As soon as Raven landed she approached them.

"Wow, your healing powers are even better than what dad told me. You even grew his tooth back … I'm impressed. You really are the dedicated wifey, aren't you?"

"I'd do anything for him." Raven replied in her gravelly, old school monotone.

Rose cracked her knuckles. "He'll need it; he had better have practiced yesterday, because today I'm opening a can of whoop ass on him. I hope you brought your magical first aid kit with you, because he's gonna need it."

"What is the point of this? You aren't training him at all."

"Sorry, witch, I'm not telling you."

Raven glared at her. "Suddenly the idea of killing you has become very tempting … and I could do it."

Rose grinned from ear to ear. "You don't have the balls to do it."

"And I supposed you do?"

"Do you know how many men I've killed?"

"Don't confuse pyschopathy with courage, Slade-Girl."

"Better a psychopath than demon spawn … like the little girl you have."

The two women balled their firsts and glared at each other. Beast Boy stepped into the fray.

"I thought I came here for training, not to watch a cat fight ... Raven, as much as I'd like you to kill her, if you lay a hand on her, Mark is as good as dead."

Raven frowned at him and after hesitating she backed away. Ravager smirked. "And here I thought you were the smart one and he was the stupid one. Silly me."

"I'm ready, Rose." The changeling interrupted.

"You are? And how do you know that, puke face?"

"I trained yesterday with Nightwing."

"Well, I'm impressed; maybe today you'll be half a challenge. Oh and when you go home later …" Rose pointed at the sky. "… tell Nightwing I know he's watching and that he's wasting his time trying to trail me. I know the Flashes went into the cave to find me. You aren't going to find the lair, so give it up."

"You can't blame us for trying."

"I can and I want you to stop. If you aren't ready to begin work in 30 days, you can kiss your boy and your girlfriend goodbye. So you'd better focus on your training. And there won't be any second chances. Understood?"

"Understood." He growled back at her.

"Good … now the ass kicking will begin." She grinned.

Rose leaped into the air, aiming a flying side kick at his head. With lightning fast reflexes the changeling dropped to a crouch and she flew over him. He then leaped into the air and performed a one handed somersault, landing in front of her in a fighting stance. Ravager nodded approvingly.

"You weren't lying, that was one of Nightwing's moves, and executed perfectly I might add. There's one problem, though … I've studied bird boy and his moves. He does have more of them now that he's ditched the traffic light suit, but I know them all. I'm afraid that you're gonna hafta do better than that Logan, but don't worry. When I'm done teaching you, you'll be able to kick his butt."

"You don't want to teach me anything, you just want to beat me up!"

She smirked. "Well, yeah. I like to watch your witchy wife's face while I kick your ass. She might not say it, but we both know she wants a real man, one who can actually fight … maybe after I'm done with you she'll wise up and trade you in for something better." She broke out laughing.

The changeling screamed as he lunged at Rose. It had not gone unnoticed when she was distracted that her precognitive ability would momentarily fade away. Taking advantage of the situation he wrapped his arms around her waist and he tackled her. They landed on the ground with a dull thud and rolled while they exchanged blows with each other. He connected a palm strike to her face. She fell on her back and continued to roll, fluidly returning to a standing position. She wiped the blood away from her mouth and smiled.

"Temper, temper, Logan. You can't allow your emotions to rule you; I figured you'd know that being married to the ice queen herself."

"Enough with the put downs, are you going to fight or not?" He replied.

"See, now that's what I'm looking for!" She shouted.

Ravager lashed out at the changeling with a fury that made Raven wince as she watched, though she didn't quite exteriorize the same concern for the well being of her spouse as she did the day before. Rose quickly connected with a roundhouse kick to his side. He grunted but struck back immediately with a pair of lightning fast jabs, which both connected with her face. Dazed she staggered back. He leaped in to the air, aiming to kick her in the head. She dodged out of the way and struck back, also missing. Raven immediately noticed that the smug look on Rose's face was gone and smiled.

The sparring session continued for an hour, and the pace did not relent. Both fighters were drenched in sweat and were finally showing signs of fatigue. The match was fairly even and both combatants had bruises and blood oozing from their noses and mouths. Finally Rose stepped back and raised her hands, indicating that it was enough. The changeling acquiesced and stepped back as well.

"Good job … I'm impressed." She panted. "It's hard to believe that you're the same guy from yesterday."

She turned to Raven. "Did you cheat?"

Raven glared at the platinum blond. "What!?"

"He fights just like Bird Boy … if he was bigger, like Nightwing, he would have beaten me. What did you do? Did you cast a spell on your mate so that he would fight like Nightwing?"

"I did no such thing, there is no such spell."

"Then how did he improve so quickly?"

Beast Boy caught his breath. "Who do you think taught me to fight?"

"I know Robin taught you, but yesterday you were an out of shape loser. Now you're at the top of your form. That doesn't just happen overnight."

"You're forgetting his animal powers … after we went home he trained in his animal forms. He toned up quickly." Raven interjected.

"Is that how his fang grew back so quickly?"

"In part, I did have a hand at that."

"Plus I had a training session with Nightwing. And yeah, it all came back fast … you forget, I really am different."

Rose nodded. "I see … we'll continue tomorrow then with the next phase … I was originally planning on breaking you down before rebuilding you, but now I see that won't be necessary. There will be a new location … you'll be contacted with the details."

Ravager turned and walked to the mesa's cliff. She turned to look back at the changeling.

"You're full of surprises, Logan."

She stepped off the ledge and once again disappeared.

_**-( - )-**_

The two Titans flew silently back to the Tower. The training session had lasted little over an hour and she was anxious to get back. As they flew they passed over Little Italy and as she looked down she saw their home, with Azarathia downstairs and the clinic next door. Both were closed as was the apartment upstairs.

"You miss it, don't you?" He asked.

"Yes, I do. That's my home, my true home."

"Do you want to stop there for a bit?"

She shook her head. "No, we should just go back to the Tower, they're waiting for us. They watched the sparring match and they know we're on our way back."

The changeling looked down at the two buildings. "I understand … you haven't been back to the apartment, not since we all came back here, right?"

"I haven't had any time."

"I know, it's been crazy since this business with Slade and Rose began. I wonder what she has planned for tomorrow."

The disk finally reached the Tower. Jinx and Wally were waiting for them. So was Starfire, who had Coraline in her arms. Cyborg was standing next to her, along with Nightwing. Victor bumped fists with the changeling. "Nice job, man, she wasn't expecting that. You had her on the run."

"I wouldn't go that far, Cy. She is pretty damn formidable."

The princess handed Coraline to her mother. "We should go inside. Slade is probably spying on us."

They all stepped into the elevator and Cyborg pressed the 'C' button to take them to the Commons room. As soon as the doors closed Starfire turned to the changeling.

"As always, you were amazing."

The princess drew the changeling into a passionate embrace and gave him a deep kiss. No one batted an eyelash, though Raven did clear her throat loudly. "Do you mind?"

Garfield backed away from the princess. "Sorry, Raven."

Raven shook her head as she raised her hands, placing them on Garfield's and Nightwing's foreheads.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

The two men's figures began to blur and they began to slowly change size and color, after several seconds they began to coalesce and take more defined forms. The others watched silently, until the transformation was complete and the two men had traded forms.

"That's better … I'm sorry Starfire, seeing you kiss him, even knowing that he wasn't really Gar, was just too disturbing."

Jinx laughed. "Raven! You guys could all swap shapes! Think about it: mate swapping without the adultery! That would be awesome."

"That is disturbing beyond words."

"I agree." Nightwing added.

"Oh, I do not agree. Back on Tamaran it is customary on the feast of intimate friendship for best friends to swap mates for the night, as a way of strengthening their bonds of friendship and sharing."

Raven stared, aghast, at her friend. "Starfire, please tell me you're joking. After spending weeks stuck in Peyton Place Labs I don't want to hear another word about polyamory or spouse swapping … ever."

The princess giggled. "Yes, I was joking. Forgive me, Raven, but as you humans would say, you are too easy a target."

Raven glared at her friend, who continued to giggle. Before she could say a word the elevator doors opened. Robin and Superboy were in the kitchen, having a midmorning snack. As the group exited the elevator the giant TV flashed the words "Incoming Call." Wally zoomed to the console and began to type.

"I can't trace it, it's using anonymous bounces."

"Then we know who's calling." Beast Boy remarked. "I wonder why he's calling so soon."

Wally pressed a button on the console and Slade's image appeared on the screen. Tim and Connor put their snacks down and came out of the kitchen area to have a better view of the legendary nemesis.

"Hello Titans." Slade droned in his signature monotone. "That was quite a show you put on this morning. You fooled Rose but you didn't quite fool me."

Nightwing stepped up to the console and very discretely began to type. Slade continued talking.

"You didn't think I would fail to recognize my old apprentice, did you? Did you know that your technique has some of the same flaws it did years ago? Oh, I tried to drill them out of you, but some of them were just too entrenched to be corrected. I have to congratulate you, and Raven too, I'm sure she had a hand in disguising you, since you actually changed size to match Logan. You see, that's something a holoring can't do."

Slade chuckled smugly. "I have to say, I was flattered. Who would have thought that you wanted to be my apprentice again? I was genuinely touched that you wished to come back to me, that is, until we found this."

Slade opened his hand and showed them one of Nightwing's tracers.

"Rose found this on her back before returning, where you placed it when you tackled her, very clever, Nightwing. It has been deactivated, of course, so don't bother tracing it. I have to say Nightwing, I'm very disappointed that you broke the rules. I'm afraid that some disciplinary action is in order."

"No! Don't touch the boy!" Raven shouted.

"The boy will remain unharmed for now. But now Logan won't be allowed to see him until he completes his training and successfully completes his first mission for me. And speaking of training, you will report to training tomorrow at the mesa at 7AM sharp, and you will come alone, Raven stays home. And give the spy satellite back to Luthor. I will be monitoring it, so don't even think of using it."

"Slade, what is the point of this training? All Ravager does is beat him up, she isn't teaching him anything." Raven complained.

"That isn't true Raven. She was teaching him something very important."

"I get it, Slade, she's better than me, and no matter how hard I train, I'll never be as good as she is at hand to hand combat."

"Good. Since we've passed that first hurdle I will take over your training."

"Slade, is this really necessary?" Nightwing asked.

"It is. See you tomorrow, Logan. And don't be late."

_**-( - )-**_

"Come on, Beast Boy! You can do better than that."

The changeling looked up from the sparring mat in the Tower's gym. Every muscle in his body felt as if it was on fire. It was true; he had gone soft during his eight years at school. Nightwing extended a hand to him and pulled him to his feet.

"One more time, you're so close to mastering this technique."

"Listen, I'll admit it, I'm out of shape, big time. If Raven had a spell for that, I'd let her use it, but she doesn't … can't we just take five?"

Grayson looked at the clock on the wall, it was approaching 10 PM. They started after lunch and only took a brief dinner break.

"Go rest, I'm sure Raven's waiting for. You're as ready as you're going to be for Slade tomorrow."

"Yeah, lots of fun with the psychotic Cyclops. It'll be a hoot."

"Gar, we're gonna get them back, it might take some time, but we will. Slade will eventually make a mistake."

Beast Boy picked up his gym towel and threw it over his shoulder. "Thanks Dick, I'll see you tomorrow."

The green Titan trudged out of the gym, looking worse for the wear. Exhaustion permeated every cell in his body and there wasn't a bone that didn't ache. He wished he had a dollar for every time Grayson had slammed onto the mat. Some black belt he was. He was so lost in thought that he almost ran into Robin and Speedy, who were holding hands as they walked down the same hallway.

"Are you OK, Mr. Logan?" Mia asked.

Gar looked up, his expression was blank.

"He's been training and sparring for 10 hours with Nightwing, of course he isn't OK." Tim replied.

"What he said." Gar remarked with a weak smile. "And don't call me Mr. Logan, that was my dad's name … I'm not that old, at least not yet."

He began to walk away, but suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Are you guys dating?"

The younger Titans grinned sheepishly.

"I'll take that as a yes … you're both sixteen, right?"

"That's right." Speedy replied.

Gar nodded his head. "I see … that's nice … well, good night."

The changeling turned and resumed walking.

"Why the hell did I wait so damn long to tell Raven? They sure didn't wait." He grumbled to himself as he boarded the elevator.

A minute later he entered Raven's old room. She was once again nursing Coraline. He looked down upon their daughter who was happily suckling and smiled. "Hi … she's the most beautiful thing in the whole world."

"I know, and we made her … are you OK? You look beat."

"I am … I need a shower … I'll be quick."

"Take your time."

He walked into the bathroom and stripped down, scrunching his nose as he shoved his smelly and sweat soaked clothes into the hamper. He stopped in front of the sink and looked at himself. He thought that he looked like a bus had hit him. He reached into the shower stall and turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. Once it did he stepped and stood motionless under the steady stream of hot droplets, which caressed his aching body with their therapeutic warm. He closed his eyes and sighed. The world around him vanished and he savored the well deserved respite from the long and arduous day.

"Did I ever tell you that you have a cute butt, Beastie-Boo?"

He smiled. She could be as quiet as a mouse. "I didn't hear you come in. And no, I don't think you've ever told me that."

"Well, there's a first time for everything. Soap up your loofah and give it to me."

Raven gently scrubbed his sweaty back until it was clean. He turned around to rinse his back clean and his eyes went straight to her chest.

"Whoa."

"Whoa, what?"

He grinned as he refocused on her face. "Sorry, it's been a few months since I last saw the girls in soapy glory … and …" He paused.

"And what?" She smiled slyly.

"They look GREAT … I mean … they're huge."

"They aren't going to stay that way, once I'm done nursing they'll go back to their normal size … so enjoy them while you got them … Beastie-Boo."

He grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, I know I will."

Raven glanced downward and smiled. "Speaking of huge, your little soldier isn't so little right now, in fact he's standing at attention."

He looked down as well.

"Yeah … he is … hey Rae-Rae."

"Yes?"

"We've never done it in the shower, have we?"

"No … we never have." She replied breathlessly. "But it sounds like a good idea to me."

"Well, like you said, there's a first time for everything."

Neither of them worried about Slade for the rest of the evening.

_**-( - )-**_

For those of you who don't already know … it finally happened! If you don't know what I'm talking about go to youtube and search for "Teen Titans Go! - Colors of Raven". On the episode preview clip the event happens around 0:48.

We're approaching 1200 reviews. As Billy Batson (AKA Captain Marvel) would say: Holy Moley!

And now, it's mailbag time!

Fl4mingTurd – Patience, grasshopper, all will be revealed.

Shadico – Someone is going to die, and it will be tragic with repercussions.

Death Stroke The Kid – Matched was indeed awful, though Raven did look cute as a bride. Alas, they didn't kiss. That said … watch the next episode "Colors of Raven". Remember these words: "What's there not to like?"

gabylokita41 – Mark will be on the back burner for a while, but don't worry, he will be back.

chica13 - Slade does have a strange relationship with the Titans.

Bluedog197 – Once a woman smells a baby and gets the bug … you're doomed! I don't have any idea of your gender, though if was forced to guess I would say you're a guy.

BartWLewis – It's true, Mark likes Raven more than he likes Alexa.

Just a Thinker – You should get an account. It's a good story, written by Marv Wolfman, though I question the artwork. Raven's personality seems like cross between TV and comic books.

EP – Who took your phone away?

krostovikraven1 – There was nothing nice about the gesture, it was pure self interest.

The Cretin – Now I have images of Beast Boy serving daiquiris to Slade in my mind.

Katt In The Boxx - If you've seen Rose in the comics, compared to her, everyone has a flabby butt. Incidentally, in this story, Rose still has both of her eyes.

Chayse-man – In the comics BB was a decent fighter in his human form.

DeeThom – You used it very correctly!

grimcameko24 – Welcome, new reviewer and thanks for your kind words.

7SheWolfShaman7 – Be warned, there is a TON of material. From the Wolfman/Perez era there must be at least 3000 pages of comics. And from the Geoff Johns era there are another 1000 pages, plus the Doom Patrol comics and other materials. My advice: If you can afford it, buy "The New Teen Titans Omnibus, Vol 2". It contains the full Terra saga, including the Judas contract, which the Terra arc on the show is loosely based on. It costs $40 on Amazon, but don't wait too long, once it goes out of print the price will skyrocket. Volume 1 has been out of print for about a year, and new copies now fetch $200.

Soulsurfer2112 – That would be a real kick in the teeth to BB, wouldn't it?

JasonVUK – So true, BB never gives up.

JOHNXgambit – We don't know if Mark's a target at this point. That was just BB speculating.

Guest – Thanks!

Dragonkyng – Alexa, a hero? What an intriguing thought.

LSUABW – We'll have to wait to find out, as Slade is taking over BB's training.

KnighteWolfe _ Bring Terra into the mix? That would be too much for Raven. And poor Mr. Terra, how could he compete with BB. We all know that Gar is a babe magnet!

SuperNolon – There is actually a place in South Dakota called the Bad Lands.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Well, she was a Titan in the comics, a dysfunctional Titan, but she was one until The New 52 was vomited upon us.

YourBestFriendIsHereDummy – I agree, Rose rocks, especially when she becomes a Titan.

Anoymous136 – Thanks!

Katie TDC - I can't tell you who's going to die! I already told you too much! As for last chapter being sloppy, I didn't proof read it at all, not that I'm very patient or thorough when I do proof a chapter before posting.

mlbv-grimm – Thanks.

titanfan45 – Wally is about to be absorbed into the dad collective.

MakorraKataangfan01 – There is a good chance that she will kick Rose's butt.

ChaosIsBeauty23 – One thing that disappointed me about Rose in the comics is that she didn't mourn Eddie's (Kid Devil) heroic death.

bigC94 – We'll see when they face off. For now Raven will have to be patient and bide her time.


	42. Alexa and Slade

Slade walked slowly in the cavernous room, which echoed with the relentless grind of gears turning, powering his robot factory, which steadily produced the parts and subassemblies required to produce his signature robots. He stopped at the end of a production line, which operated by more Slade-bots, and examined the mechanical hands that the line produced. Satisfied with the product, he gave it back to the robot, which in turn packed it into a box which would be stored in a warehouse.

Slade's factory was an efficient and well oiled machine. His next stop was the line that made the computer chips that powered the cybernetic henchmen's brains, circuits that were of his own custom design. As the assembly droid handed him a circuit board to inspect, the sound of one of the massive steel doors sliding open, groaning like a tired giant, interrupted his train of thought.

He had a visitor.

"Slade, what's the meaning of this!?"

"Do you have a complaint, Dr. Pontone?" He asked in a bored tone.

"I certainly do … you promised Logan to me."

"I did. What is your complaint?"

"What is my complaint? He's with his wife! He's never here!"

"Yes, Dr. Pontone, that is by design."

"You promised me …"

"And that promise will be kept, once my need for his services has been fulfilled. Once that milestone is reached he will be all yours."

"You expect me to wait a whole year?"

Slade turned to face the blond bombshell. "What is your infatuation with the green imp, Doctor? It is more than obvious that you could do so much better than him."

"It's none of your business, Slade."

"Everything is my business … but if you are dissatisfied you may leave at any time you wish. Your Swiss account has been fully credited in the amount we agreed. Don't believe me? … Check it yourself."

"I already did, but what good will it do me? Luthor is looking for me; he wants my head on a pike. I can't leave until you complete the rest of the bargain."

"Which I fully intend to do … but you need to be patient, my dear Alexa. You see, I need Logan's undivided attention for now, which is why we are engaged in our little deception. It is virtually certain that Logan has told his useless friends that you are my prisoner, along with the green brat. Right now, Lex Luthor is more preoccupied with me than with you. Nevertheless, while you are free to leave at anytime, I wouldn't recommend it. For one thing, the boy doesn't leave with you."

Alexa snorted derisively. "You think I actually care about him?"

Slade chuckled. "Of course you don't, the boy was bait, nothing more. I must commend you for your detachment. It's how I raised my own daughter. The first lesson that I drilled into her skull was that she shouldn't count on anyone … not even me. It's wisdom that has served her well."

"I'm not happy about this, Slade. You changed the deal on me. I kidnapped him like you asked. You never said anything about waiting a year in this dank hideout."

"You are wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. You are now a billionaire; it's what you always dreamed of, correct?"

"What good is it if I can't use it?"

"Are you saying that you are unhappy with our arrangement?"

"I'm unhappy that you're screwing me, Popeye!"

Slade crossed his arms. "That is unfortunate … for you."

Alexa felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself face to face with Ravager, who had a huge grin on her face.

"What the hell do you want?" Alexa sneered at the teen. With a lightning fast jab she punched Alexa in the face, knocking her out cold. Slade approached and examined his daughter's handiwork. Alexa's nose was bloodied and looked odd.

"You broke her nose, and Raven isn't here to heal it. Oh well, it's nothing that a plastic surgeon can't repair later."

"It was her weakest feature, so no harm done." Rose remarked with a smirk.

"Take her and throw her into a cell … a real cell. I'm afraid that the doctor has become a liability for us."

"Why not just kill her now?"

"I promised her the money and the changeling and I always keep my word. Once we are done, Luthor's business empire will be in ruins and he won't be in any position to harm her, plus he'll be very busy with me in the meantime."

Rose threw Alexa over her shoulder and walked away. As she left the room she wondered what the beauty queen saw in the changeling. She could understand the witch being his mate, they were two of a kind: weird, creepy and … in her opinion … butt ugly. But for the life of her, she couldn't fathom Pontone's infatuation with Puke Face.

It made no sense.

_**-( - )-**_

The sound of a baby's cries pierced the silence in the room.

"I'll get her …"

"No, you sleep; it's not time for you to get up, not yet."

Raven sat up and stretched before walking over to the rocking chair, where she left her nightgown the night before. She slipped it on, pulling it over her head and covered herself with a silk robe her husband gave her on her birthday.

"I'm already awake, I'm getting up anyway."

"Then go eat some breakfast. Something with lots of carbs, you're going to need the energy … I'll be out there in a bit … don't you dare leave without saying goodbye."

He stood up and slipped his boxers on.

"And put on a robe, we have young girls in the Tower."

"They've all seen their boyfriends naked. They won't even notice me in my underwear."

"I don't care, just do it."

The changeling groaned but obeyed his wife. He pecked her on the cheek before heading out the door. The trip to the common room brought back plenty of memories. For a moment he felt that he was once again a fifteen year old. Little did he know back then that he would marry Raven and they would have a daughter. Even more unexpected was that he would father a son out of wedlock with a classmate and that both would be held hostage by Slade and his psychotic daughter. Was it genetic, he wondered, that Rose turned out to be a sociopath like her old man, or did he raise her to be that way?

He trudged into the common room at 5:17 AM. To his surprise it was a bright, unlike outside where nighttime still ruled. Also unexpected: Cyborg and Nightwing were waiting for him.

"You're up early." Nightwing remarked.

"Told ya he'd get up early."

Beast Boy groaned. "The baby woke us up; Rave will be coming down when she's done with her."

"How about some pancakes?" The Tin Man offered.

"Sure, that sounds good. Vegan, right?

"Yeah, I'll make them with almond milk."

Gar sat down at the table. "Thanks."

Nightwing joined him at the table. "We need to talk about Slade."

"What's there to talk about? Slade's a psychotic criminal mastermind. We've been fighting him as long as I can remember."

Grayson shook his head. "Well yeah, but this is different."

"How so?"

"Remember when I was his apprentice?"

"How could I forget? We thought you betrayed us."

"Yeah … well … the thing is, Slade had this weird obsession … he once said that eventually I would see him as a father."

"You never told us that."

"I know … it was weird. Slade broke me down. He had me over a barrel, threatening all of you with the nanoprobes … but there was more to it than that."

Grayson sat pensively, carefully considering is next words.

"He methodically stripped away everything that identified who I was. He made me wear his uniform. At first I was forbidden from having any contact with you guys, you were no longer my family, you weren't even my friends anymore and every time I obeyed him he upped the ante. He made me attack you, he wanted me to hurt you and … I obeyed him. You see, Beast Boy, he chips away at you, until who you are is gone … and then he'll start to rebuild you in his image. And I'm ashamed to say that he was beginning to succeed. After I stole the thermal blaster he said that I enjoyed stealing it. And he was right. I didn't know it at the time, but I was beginning to lose myself."

Nightwing sighed. "Had you guys not found me … I might have been lost forever."

The changeling nodded. "Thanks for the heads up. But it won't happen with me … I have to many scores to settle with Slade … he stole Terra from me, he sold Raven back to her dad, he's kidnapped my son and now he's trying to steal me from my family … you don't forget about those kinds of things."

The three friends ate their breakfast in silence, and just as they were finishing Raven entered the room. She tried to lock eyes with Grayson and he looked away.

"Please tell me you have a plan."

Cyborg slowly shook his head. Raven frowned her displeasure and did something she hadn't done in over ten years … she made a telepathic contact with Nightwing.

"_You have to have a plan … we can't just send him out there with Slade."_

"**I'm sorry; Raven … right now I've got nothing. Slade has us over a barrel."**

"_I'm not going to let him go. Azar knows what Slade will do to him."_

"**If he doesn't go, who knows how Slade will react? While I think it's unlikely, there is a possibility that he will hurt Mark."**

"_Don't remind me … Dick … I'm scared … Batman is right, Gar isn't in his prime. You saw how Ravager beat him up."_

"**Raven … Slade won't damage him, at least not permanently. He needs Beast Boy for whatever nefarious plan he has. Slade doesn't hurt people just for the hell of it … he's too anal for that. Plus he has his own demented code of honor."**

She relaxed a bit and noticed out of the corner of her eye that her husband was aware of the silent telepathic exchange that just happened. Gar pushed his plate away and stood up.

"I'd better get going."

Grayson nodded reluctantly. "We'll let you two have a moment before you go."

Gar turned and hugged his friend. As they patted each other on the back, he whispered to him. "If anything happens to me, you'll watch out for Raven and Coraline, right? I know she doesn't need anyone to take care of her, but I'll feel better knowing you'll be there for her."

"You know I'm always be there for the three of you … but nothing is going to happen to you, at least not today. All Slade is going to do is establish that he's the Alpha."

"Meaning he's gonna kick my ass."

"Yes … he will … but you are coming home tonight, maybe bruised again, but you will come home."

The Logans boarded the elevator and departed for the roof. The sun was just rising and the city was slowly coming to life, as the first commuters, who were blissfully unaware of what was happening in the Tower, scurried off to their jobs. The Chromatically Challenged Couple™ walked together, hand in hand, to the ledge. She cupped his face in her small gray palm.

"I don't like this; Slade has to be up to something. There has to be a reason why he won't let us watch."

"I don't like it either, but I don't have any other choice."

"If he hurts you … I'll send him to the same hell where I sent my father."

The two shared a passionate kiss.

"I'll be back … you and I are going out for dinner tonight, I don't care how beat up I am, so arrange for a babysitter, OK?"

"OK."

He turned away and spreading his arms he morphed into an eagle, jumping off the Tower before the transformation was complete. Raven watched as he completed his transformation and began to soar, flapping his large green wings to gain some altitude as there were no thermals for him to surf in the early morning. She watched as he slowly disappeared in the distance, feeling overwhelmed with a sense of both dread and melancholy. So deep was her depression that she didn't hear Cyborg approach her until he was standing next to her. He handed her a pair of very high tech binoculars.

"They're the latest and greatest. Self stabilizing and very powerful … you should be able to see everything from the next mesa. Slade said no satellites and no up and close audience … he didn't say anything about watching from a distance. And I already asked Jinx to watch the baby."

Raven levitated up to his eye level and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You'd better hurry up, little lady, Slade won't wait for you to get comfy."

"Thanks Cyborg, thank you."

Raven took off, speeding like missile to the Bad Lands.

_**-( - )-**_

_Two years earlier…_

A late model BMW zoomed down a ramp into an underground garage, its tires squealing with every corner it turned, until its driver pulled into a reserved parking spot, screeching to a halt. An angry looking woman stormed out of the vehicle, slamming the door shut with great vigor.

She briskly walked to the elevator bank and pressed a button summoning a lift. She tapped her foot impatiently while she waited for it and was joined by another resident. He was an unremarkable young man, dressed in a decent, though off the rack suit. He had a black leather bound attaché case in his hand. He smiled nervously at her.

People thought it was a blessing to have above average good looks, but all that meant was that you'd be admired from afar. The only ones who would approach her would either be sleazy alpha wannabes or shy geeks like the idiot before her. His name was Lester and he was an accountant at one of the big firms downtown. Not even a junior partner, mind you, just an employee. He had an uncanny knack for bumping into her, so much so that she suspected he was stalking her.

As for the kind of men she really was interested in, namely the rich and powerful, well, it turned out that good looking women were a lot more commonplace than one would think. There was no shortage of arm candy available to those in positions of privilege and she soon learned that the powerful and rich were more interested in a trophy wife than an equal. Her mind briefly drifted to the memory of a powerful man who truly was her friend, the only problem with him was that he wasn't powerful in the business community, his clot was elsewhere, so for all practical purposes he was just as much a loser as good old Lester. Her friend was the sole heir to a substantial fortune however, one which he probably wouldn't inherit for decades, and she wasn't the patient type.

She chuckled to herself. People often said that youth was wasted on the young. That was wrong, she reasoned, what was really wasted was wealth on the not so young.

"Alexa? … Uh … hi?" Lester stammered.

Pontone briefly considered taking the nerd back to her apartment for a quick roll in the hay as a way of getting her mind off of what was bothering her, but she desisted, as he clearly didn't meet her minimum standards for a one night stand, not by a long shot.

"What?" She replied in a clipped and terse tone.

"Did you have a bad day?" He asked in a helpful tone.

"Nothing you could help with." She replied in monotone as they boarded the lift. She punched the "P" button for her penthouse, and without asking him, pressed '5', which was his floor. The stood in silence as the elevator rose. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I'm a good listener, at least that's what my mom says."

The elevator stopped and the doors chimed as they opened.

"I'm sure you are … this is your stop. Good night, Lester."

The nerdy accountant was unable to conceal his disappointment. "Good night, Alexa."

As soon as the elevator doors closed she rolled her eyes. As if … what a loser."

Her thoughts quickly returned to what was troubling her and her frown reappeared. The doors opened a second time at the penthouse level and she charged into her apartment, flipping on the lights and marching straight to her liquor cabinet. She quickly made herself an oversized Martini and stomped into the living room, where she sat down and turned on the TV, selecting the Gotham News Network, just in time to catch the start of the newscast. A perky brunette with a Colgate smile greeted the audience.

"In tonight's top story the Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine has announced that a vaccine for the C1H4 virus that has already taken the lives of half of the population of man's best friend …"

Alexa muted the audio, while stock image of the CSU campus were shown on the screen. She stared at the familiar school grounds and buildings, after which she raised her cocktail glass in the air in a mock toast.

"Here's to you, CSU, my alma mater … thanks to you, my best shot at getting rich …"

She consumed the contents of the glass in a single gulp.

"Is lost." A baritone commented from the shadows at the far end of the room.

Alexa leapt to her feet and dashed to a nearby desk with remarkable speed and aplomb. She opened a drawer and pulled out a pistol, which she aimed at the shadowy figure.

"Get out of here … I know how to use this!"

The stranger chuckled. "How cute, you have a pistol … I believe you, you certainly know how to use it, since you're a regular at the shooting range."

Alexa frowned. "Are you one of the guys from the shooting club? Because if you are this isn't funny."

"No, I am not from the club." The mysterious man, who remained in the shadows, replied.

"Then who are you?"

"I can show you."

"Don't come a step closer or I'll blow your head off."

The figure stepped closer and she instinctively stepped back, until she bumped into the desk.

"Whoever you are, don't say you weren't warned." She hissed in a menacing tone as she pulled the trigger. A loud click was heard but nothing happened.

"That Glock in your hands can be a very deadly weapon, Miss Pontone. Fortunately for me I found it earlier and emptied both the chamber and the clip."

The stranger stepped out of the shadows and Alexa gasped.

"I know who you are! You're Slade! Garfield told us about you."

"Logan was dropping names? I'm flattered."

Alexa scrambled for her desk and opened another drawer, furiously ransacking it.

"Are you looking for this?" Slade gestured as he showed her the box of ammo he removed earlier.

"What do you want?" She asked in a defiant tone that barely betrayed the terror she was experiencing.

"Relax, Dr. Pontone, I didn't come here to harm you. Had that been my intent, you wouldn't have made it to your bar."

He produced a sheaf of papers, which he handed to her. She looked at them and when she recognized what they were she gave him a venomous glare. "These are my stock options … they were locked in my safe!"

"It wasn't a challenge to open it; you should spend more on a better safe. Regarding your stock options, they are not for common shares in Luthor's corporation. They're for a shell company he made just for the vaccine project. You do know that there were outside investors … Luthor hardly put any of his own money into the firm, though he received 60% of the shares just for lending his good name to the firm: 'Luthor Vaccines'. Of course now that the university has released the vaccine into the public domain, your options are worth as much as the vaccine subsidiary, which is to say: nothing."

"Yeah, I know that. At the end of the month I have to return the BMW, move out of here and back into a crappy student apartment at my university."

"That is unfortunate. You do know that your PhD is literally guaranteed."

"Yes, I do. But I would have preferred to be staggeringly wealthy, they could keep the PhD in that case … so what do you want, Slade? Does this have anything to do with Garfield and his old teammates, the Teen Titans?"

Slade uncrossed and spread his arms. "Funny that you should ask."

_**-( - )-**_

See, as promised I am starting to reveal some secrets. In case you haven't noticed, Slade calls BB by his surname: Logan. I borrowed that from the comics.

And now, the mailbag, which is shorter than usual, but still pretty big. Just a few reviews away from the 1200 mark, I never thought it would have so many. I know many of you are back in school, so I understand that maybe you've been a bit busy, so I'm not taking it personally

Guest - BB is lucky, Raven is very devoted and supportive, not to mention 100% faithful and loyal to him.

Soulsurfer2112 – As you now know, Alexa was Slade's accomplice. But only a fool makes a deal with Slade.

Sweetums14 – Shower moments are an undocumented perk of being married. There are no explicit vows, but it's pretty much implied.

The Cretin – Rose just came across so indifferent, all the other Titans were emotionally destroyed. Maybe it was her way of coping.

Kidstandout – She'll never call him that in public, only in the privacy of their room.

Fl4mingTurd – The new episode, The Colors of Raven, was half decent. The Love emoticlone was all over BB like a cheap suit.

FireHippie – Thanks!

mlbv-grimm – As thorough as he is, Slade isn't perfect and always makes mistakes.

bigC94 – Mia had HIV in the comics. As far a Speedys go, she's a lot easier on the eyes than Roy Harper.

Just a Thinker – When Tim grows up and becomes "Red Robin" he has a thing with Tam Fox, daughter of Lucius Fox.

titanfan45 – They will recruit an unexpected ally to fight back against Slade.

SuperNolon – Slade shouldn't get too confident.

JOHNXgambit – Slade wants BB's complete obedience.

BartWLewis – BB has some Aces up his sleeve, just waiting for the right time to use them.

MakorraKataangfan01 – So many possibilities

7SheWolfShaman7 – It can be a serious investment.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – That's another perk of being married.

DeeThom – BB will be a tough nut to break.

gabylokita41 – Yeah, there's quite a bit left, plus an extensive epilogue set in the future when the kids are all grown up.

krostovikraven1 – They always find a way, right?

Death Stroke The Kid – Ron Pearlman IS Slade. All the other voice actors don't cut it.

JasonVUK – Well, they are the Chromatically Challenged Couple!

TJSC25 – Nothing like a two-fer! And I'm not telling who's dying.

Bluedog197 – Some are asking for Rose to become a Titan, like she did in the comics.

EP – Yikes!

Anoymous136 – Her patience does have its limits though.

Dragonkyng – What? No telepathic link?


	43. Recovery

A dark hemisphere rose from the ground, its telltale hum only heard by a single lizard perched on a nearby rock, which scurried away as the eldritch energy permeated the air. As soon as the hemisphere dissipated Raven quickly hid in a nearby group of boulders. She searched for a good spot from which to spy and when she found one she unpacked the scope Cyborg gave her, which looked like a metal box with several lenses on it, and unfolding the short tripod that came with it she mounted it on one of the rocks and turned it on. An LCD display lit up and she could see the top of the mesa that was over two miles away, and it quickly came into focus. The plateau appeared to be empty and when she reached out with her senses she felt Slade's presence. He was already there, hidden somewhere.

She continued to watch and saw Garfield, still in his avian form, descend from the sky and transform into his default human form. A small parabolic dish popped out of the scope and the sound of servos whirring was heard as the dish slowly moved, until it found its target. She put on a headphone set and after turning a volume knob found that she could hear with perfect clarity what was happening on the distant mesa. She knew better than to enable the comm downlink to the tower, as that might expose her presence, and instead turned on the recorder, knowing that Dick would want to review it later. She focused with the intensity of a laser; she didn't want to miss any detail on what was happening.

Beast Boy began to wander around the mesa. "OK Slade, I'm here. Let's get this over with."

Slade emerged from a group of boulders. "Good morning, Logan. Are you ready for your lesson today?"

"And what would that be?"

"Humility. You've been in the limelight a great deal lately, with your vaccination discoveries, but that is in the past. Today I'm going to teach what a mediocre superhero you have become. You've gone soft, Logan. Whatever happened to that ropey young kid? He's been replaced by a desk jockey. You're so out of shape that you couldn't possibly finish one of Robin's old obstacle courses."

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed. "I'm in better shape than you think."

"Oh, that's precious, that must be why my Rose was able to hand your posterior to you on a platter … how does that make you feel, Logan? To have a girl beat the stuffing out of you while your wife watched."

"You did something to her, she isn't normal. Even Nightwing struggled with her."

"Ah yes, Nightwing: The Alpha male of the Titans."

"What are you talking about?" Beast Boy hissed.

"Tell me, who rescued Raven from Trigon's pit?"

The changeling glared. "We both know it was Robin. What's your point?"

"My point, boy, is that Raven knows who the real man is in the group. And while she settled for you, we both know she really wanted him."

"That's not true." Raven muttered under her breath; knowing they couldn't hear her. "Gar, you know that's not true."

"You're full of crap." The changeling replied.

"You tell him." Raven added.

"So why did Robin rescue her, and not you?"

Raven held her breath, waiting to hear his response.

"He was the right guy for the job." He answered in a dejected tone.

"In other words, he was the Alpha, and you were the Beta. He gave her to you; she was little more than sloppy seconds as far as he was concerned."

Raven bristled, struggling to contain her fury. How dare Slade throw an accusation like that?

"He's never touched her, Slade. She never was his, she's only been mine."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good, there is hope for you. When I'm done with you, you'll be an Alpha."

"I don't need anything from you."

"That's my Gar." Raven whispered to herself as a small smile appeared on her face.

Slade paced around for a moment, silently. He suddenly stopped and adopted a fighting stance.

"Then prove it, boy. Show me what you got."

"No, I won't; as Raven would say, this is pointless. I won't spar with you. You aren't my teacher or my master … and I'm not a boy, I'm a man."

"I presume Raven told you that."

"Yes, she did … a long time ago. It just goes to show how little you really know about us."

"So … you are a man. Then why aren't you defending your woman's honor? Are you just going to stand there while I remind you that Raven is nothing more than a demoness and a whore?"

Raven saw her husband's jaw tremble.

"Like I already said, this is pointless; I'm not going to fight you. If you aren't going the train me, then I'm leaving."

"You will fight me … or you will die!" Slade shouted as he opened his attack with a spinning heel kick. Beast Boy ducked and it flew over his head. Slade continued with his spinning momentum and hit the changeling with a spinning round house kick. The older man outweighed Beast Boy by at least a factor of two, if not more, and sent the small green man tumbling, even thought Garfield managed to block the kick, which was aimed at his head, with both his arms. To his credit he got back onto his feet with a single move and his hands went into a fighting pose, one hand over his solar plexus, the other raised to protect his face.

"OK, Slade … you want a fight … you got one."

Beast Boy lunged at Slade. The two exchanged a series of kicks and strikes, which were successfully blocked by both. Slade dropped and swept the changeling off his feet with a kick and jumped on him, pinning him to the ground.

"You need to do a better job of anticipating a change in tactics by your opponent!" Slade howled at him before leaping back to an upright position. "On your feet, Logan! We aren't close to being done."

Raven saw her husband bare his fangs as he quickly rose to his feet.

"Gar, stay in control, don't let him get to you." Raven muttered sotto voce as she continued to watch from her hiding place.

Beast Boy attacked Slade with a vehemence and velocity that surprised the older man, who was barely able to parry his attacks. Raven continued to watch, her entire body tense with apprehension. Garfield was able to connect a kick to Slade's head, and knocked his mask away, revealing for the first time ever what his face looked like.

His hair was short and was platinum blonde, and he had a platinum goatee on his face to match it. He also had an eye patch covering his missing eye. An angry snarl appeared on his face while Beast Boy smirked.

"So who's the Alpha, Slade?" The changeling taunted him.

"Gar, don't be stupid." Raven spoke to the screen.

Unfortunately, being that she was almost 2 miles away, there was no way he could hear her. Feeling emboldened, he launched another attack. This time Slade, his face still uncovered, easily parried Beast Boy's jabs and kicks. Garfield kicked with even greater ferocity, and jumped in the air, hoping to deliver a devastating spinning round house kick.

Time slowed down for the changeling as soon as he jumped into the air. The kick was perfect, truly flawless, he felt elated when it connected with Slade's ribs and a smile appeared on his face. His victory was short lived however, as Slade lowered his arm and trapped his leg before it snapped back. Beast Boy landed on his other foot, and his face expressed that he fully understood the precariousness of his now indefensible situation. Still holding his trapped leg, Slade kicked him three times in the groin, with rapid fire snap kicks. The changeling howled in pain and his standing leg collapsed. Slade released him and Beast Boy fell to the ground, writhing in agony, defenseless while Slade's huge and imposing figure stood menacingly over him.

Miles away in her hiding spot Raven leaped to her feet, her face smothered in anguish.

"Slade!" Was the only word that came out of her mouth. Without thinking, she conjured a portal and was about to step into it when she felt the icy presence of cold steel pressed against her neck. She felt a small trickle of blood slide down her neck as the razor sharp blade broke her gray skin.

"No sudden moves, witch … we knew you were here watching the whole time."

Ravager had a katana in each hand, and she struck the scope with the other sword, slicing it in half. The wounded device began to spark and sizzle as it went through its death throes, until it fell silent.

"Oh what a shame, I broke your pretty toy."

A blast of dark energy, which seemed to come out of nowhere, slammed into Rose, while a black shield appeared around her neck, protecting it from the blade. Ravager fell onto her butt but quickly got up. Raven's right hand was encased in dark energy.

"You're good, but tell me, what do you see in that loser you call a husband? He fights like a girl, but you, you kick butt."

"Insult him one more time, and I'll send you to another dimension from which you'll never return."

Rose smiled upon hearing the threat. "I have no doubt you could do that. But you wouldn't want something to happen to little Marky, right?"

Raven snarled at Rose.

"Why do you help him? Just because he's your father doesn't mean that you have to be like him."

"Why shouldn't I be like my dad? Just because Jericho rejected dad it doesn't mean I have to do the same."

"Rose, there's no compelling reason to serve him. You don't have to follow him just because he's your father … trust me, I know this from personal experience."

The expression on Rose's face changed, and she gave Raven a critical look. "Yes, I heard about how you betrayed your father … don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you did. I just can't fathom why."

"Why did Jericho leave your dad?"

"He didn't … dad left him. Joey always was weak; dad told me that there was no place for him in the family business."

"There's nothing weak about your brother, he's a brave man and he has my respect. Being good isn't a weakness."

"You still haven't told me why you betrayed your father. What kind of daughter does that?"

Raven frowned. "Just because he sired me doesn't make him my father. And in your case the same is true with Slade. Did he raise you? Did he protect you?"

"You've heard the saying, Raven: blood is thicker than water."

"And what about your mother? Is she also evil?"

Rose replied through clenched teeth. "Don't speak of her!"

"Why not? Did something happen between you and your mother?"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

Raven felt waves of anger, sorrow and guilt emanate from the girl. Something was wrong, but she realized that now was not the time to press the point. Rose pointed her sword at the portal, which was still open.

"That will take us to the other mesa, right?"

Raven nodded.

"Then let's go. You're hubby's hurt; dad says maybe you can do some of your magic to fix him up."

"You and your father are going to pay for this."

"Do you want to help him or not?"

An exasperated sigh escaped the demoness's lips. "Fine, let's go."

Rose collected the remains of the scope and the two women stepped through the portal and found themselves before Slade. Raven ignored him, and ran to her husband, who was supine on the ground and knelt next to him.

"What did you do to him?" She seethed.

"I don't know, which is why I sent Rose to get you."

Beast Boy continued to moan in pain.

"Gar, I'm here, it's going to be OK."

She placed her hands on him and her eyes glowed black. After a few seconds she got up and turned to face Slade, her fists balled and four crimson red eyes glowedon her face.

"You ruptured one of his testicles!"

"Can't you fix it?" Rose asked with a smirk on her face. "I thought your magic could heal stuff like that."

Raven levitated up to Slade's still unmasked face. "If you ever hurt him again … you'll wish you had never been born. And yes, I can heal him, but I'll need some privacy."

She returned to his side and conjured a black bubble, which obscured their view.

"You really busted one of his balls?" Rose asked.

"He needed to be taught a lesson." Slade replied as he slipped his mask back on.

"She looks pissed."

"She is, and one thing I have learned over the years, is that it is unwise to incur her uncontrolled wrath."

"Well, maybe you'll remember that the next time before you kick him in the nuts. You know the green brat isn't hers. Holding him hostage might keep Beast Boy in check, I'm not so sure about her."

Raven's black dome stayed up for about ten minutes, until it finally disappeared. The changeling was standing on his feet, looking wobbly and pale while Raven was drenched in sweat, clearly exhausted by the healing effort.

"Well?" Slade asked.

"He's OK, no thanks to you." She spread her arms and one of her black disks appeared on the ground. "I'm taking him home, he needs to rest."

"I haven't dismissed him." Slade replied.

"Ask me if I care." She replied. "And he isn't returning until I say so."

"You seem to think you're in charge."

"He's in no shape to train with you, if that's what you call maiming your apprentices. He isn't coming back until I say so. And if you do anything to Mark, you'll be sorry. Now if you'll excuse us …"

Raven wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they stepped onto the black disk, which immediately took to the sky, zooming away at top speed until they were no longer visible. Slade turned to his daughter.

"You destroyed Cyborg's little spy box, correct?"

"It's dead, I brought it with me."

"Good, Raven and Logan saw my face. That's bad enough, but at least they don't have any digital images."

Slade took the device's remains from Rose and began poking through its wreckage.

"Cyborg used some Interesting technology in this, I'll be sure to borrow some of the designs."

He continued to dissect the scope, systematically removing subassemblies and components, until he remove a printed circuit board that had an unoccupied slot in it.

"Where is the memory card that goes in this slot?"

"You didn't say anything about that."

"You mean you don't have it?"

"No, I don't."

Slade shouted angrily and hit her, knocking her down.

"Raven took it!" He bellowed at her. "Do you know what this means? The Titans have pictures of me now. My secret identity has been blown! I can no longer travel incognito anymore; every airport in the world has face recognition systems. I would be detected, and would risk being captured!"

"I'm sorry, dad … I didn't think of that … maybe the memory card is shot, the box was shooting sparks when I sliced it in half."

Slade continued examining the scope's wreckage. "The socket was optically isolated, the memory card is intact … Cyborg did his homework, unlike you."

"I'll get it back."

"Too late, they should already be back in the Tower by now."

"So what do we do?"

Slade gazed off in the distance at Titans Tower.

"Something I don't want to do."

_**-( - )-**_

The Titans, old and new, were gathered outside the infirmary, shuffling around nervously while Cyborg and Raven tended to the changeling inside. Robin, Wally, Connor and Bart exchanged nervous looks with each other.

"Is it true? Did Slade really …" Robin asked Bart.

"There's nothing in the history books." The junior speedster replied.

"If I was Garfield I'd make sure that nothing was officially recorded." Wally added.

The girls also exchanged hushed whispers until the infirmary door slid open. Beast Boy came out, hand in hand with his wife. All eyes were upon him.

"Are you OK?" Wally asked.

Beast Boy sighed.

"I know what you're whispering about, so let's just get this out of the way: yes, it's true, Slade kicked me in the nuts and one of them popped."

The boys, Wally and Nightwing all winced. Bart unconsciously reached for his crotch.

"Raven was able to repair the damage with her blue light and according to Cyborg I should make a full recovery … now could we please not discuss this anymore. It was both painful and humiliating, and I'd rather just forget about it, OK?"

The crowd didn't budge.

"Anyone who is still here at the count of ten gets toilet cleaning duty for a whole month. And there are twenty seven toilets in the Tower." Nightwing warned the throng. "One, Two …"

By the time he reached five, all of the junior Titans had fled the scene.

"You still have the magic touch, Nightwing." Jinx snickered.

Grayson grinned. "They are a squeamish bunch … Garfield, you should go and rest … you too, Raven, healing him took it out of you."

Raven nodded. "Sure, I know we could use it, but before we go you should have this."

She reached into her jewel belt and extracted an SD card from one of the compartments, placing it into his hand. Cyborg recognized it. "That's the memory card from the scope, right?"

"It is. It should have video of Slade …without his mask."

The hallway fell silent. Grayson stared at the SD card in his palm, and a huge grin broke out on his face.

"How did it happen? Why did he take his mask off?"

"He didn't … I knocked it off his face … why do you think he kicked me in the nuts?"

Nightwing cradled the SD card in his hand like it was a precious jewel. "What an incredible break. We caught him once, but he escaped before we could unmask him … let's have a look at it."

The group moved to the common room, where Nightwing inserted the card into the mission console. Before he could start playing it, there was an incoming call, whose source was displayed on the screen as "Unknown".

"I think we know who's calling." Raven remarked.

"I'm sure he's ready to bargain for it." Nightwing added as he pressed the answer button. Slade's masked face appeared on the screen.

"I want that memory card." Slade bluntly announced.

"I'm sure that you do … I'll make a deal with you: I won't make any copies of it and give it to you if you release both hostages to us."

"Unacceptable."

"They what do you propose?"

"I'll give you the boy, but Dr. Pontone stays with me."

"Works for me." Raven muttered under her breath. Her husband gave her a mild and subtle elbow in the ribs.

"Not good enough." Nightwing replied.

"It's my best offer."

"I refuse it."

"Then they both die."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I certainly will."

"We'd hunt you down if you do … and it will be a lot harder for you to hide."

"You know me, Nightwing, I'll simply disappear for a long time, but I'll return. But little Mark, his loss would be permanent, which would be … tragic."

The room fell silent. Grayson saw the anxious looks on the Logans' faces.

"OK, you have a deal, with one condition: I'll finish training Beast Boy."

Slade started passively from the screen, his mask hiding whatever contortions his face was going through while he considered the offer.

"I have your word that you won't make a copy of that memory card? And if you think of doing it in secret I have equipment that can detect if it has been read."

Grayson nodded. "You have my word. I haven't seen its contents yet. So, do we have a deal?"

"Yes, my former apprentice, we have a deal … tell me, Raven, how did you retrieve the card without Rose noticing?"

"I have my ways, Slade … now send Mark home … if he's harmed in any way, there will be hell to pay."

"The child is unharmed and Rose will arrive with him at the Tower's dock in 30 minutes … do not keep her waiting."

Before severing the connection he spoke one more time. "Well played, Titans, well played. But the game is far from over."

_**-( - )-**_

It was a blustery day and the wind formed whitecaps that lapped against the dock. Dick and Cyborg agreed to handle the exchange, as they both insisted the Logans, who were standing a few dozen yards away along with Starfire and Mar'i, were too emotionally involved to perform the delicate and danger fraught transaction. There were hundreds of sailboats plying through the bay's choppy waters, taking advantage of the vigorous breeze. A small radar dish had popped out of Cyborg's shoulder and was scanning the bay.

"She's five minutes late." Garfield complained unhappily.

Cyborg pointed with his arm. "I think that's them over there."

And inflatable Kodiak boat, its outboard motor roaring, pulled out from the flotilla of sailboats and approached the island.

"Smart, once Rose leaves she'll disappear back into the forest of sailboats, we won't be able to follow her without being noticed." Nightwing remarked.

The small Kodiak bounced over the choppy waters as it approached the dock. In addition to Ravager and Mark, there were three Slade-bots on board. One of them was running the outboard motor while the other two were brandishing plasma rifles. As the boat approached the docks Rose threw a rope at Nightwing, who secured the boat to the dock.

Mark was crying as Rose came ashore, carrying him in her arms, with a scowl on her face. The armed Slade-bots followed her.

"The memory card, if you please."

Nightwing handed the SD card to Rose, who in turn handed it to one of the robots, which plugged it into a slot in its arm.

"The child, if you please." Grayson replied.

"Not so fast, Titan. I need to verify this."

Starfire levitated, star bolts forming around her hands and a fierce look on her face. Raven and her spouse adopted fighting stances while Cyborg armed both of his sonic cannons.

"The boy, Ravager, now." Nightwing growled.

The robot nodded at Rose and she handed Mark to Grayson. Without saying another word Rose and her entourage jumped back into the boat. She slashed the mooring rope with one of her swords and they took off into the bay. Garfield and Raven ran to the dock, and Nightwing handed the boy to them. They smothered the boy with hugs and kisses, and for the first time since the kidnapping the boy looked happy.

"Come! We must celebrate Mark's safe return!" Starfire cheered. "I have sent Bart to buy some cake for the party."

As they made their way back to the Tower, Nightwing and Cyborg fell behind the group.

"Don't you think it's odd that Slade gave up the boy? BB and Raven won't look a gift horse in the mouth, but it's more than obvious that Mark's more valuable to Slade than Alexa." Victor asked the masked Titan.

"The same thought crossed my mind."

"So … why did he give us Mark?"

"I think Lex Luthor knows the answer to that better than we do."

"Road trip to Metropolis?"

"It's overdue."

_**-( - )-**_

Mark is safe! But what will happen next? Will the Titans abandon Alexa to a well deserved fate? Will Raven take a rain check on the dinner BB promised her?

And now, mail bag time. We're on our way to 1300 reviews! You're spoiling me! Thanks!

Shadico – Right now, she's really screwed.

GreenMongoose – I will continue to explore what makes Rose tick.

Katt In The Boxx – Some mothers don't care for their children.

Chayse-man – That obvious, huh?

7SheWolfShaman7 – Rose got little more than a rushed treatment in the TTGo! Comics. Even after she became a Titan in the real comics, she was a tormented soul.

7SheWolfShaman7 – Maybe they can get take out?

Adventuresstime – Now way could BB turn bad!

krostovikraven1 – Indeed, where did Mark come from? And Slade is a weirdo in his obsession with apprentices.

Anoymous136 – Well, he does seem to have a strong hold on her. And she hates her mother for some reason.

SuperNolon – Send my regards to Sadie!

chica13 – He was just a clueless nerd with the hots for Alexa.

Just a Thinker – In "The One Eyed Bandit" I did portray Rose as a Titan.

titanfan45 – Alexa is sociopath. What else would we expect from her?

mlbv-grimm – Thanks, will do.

Anonanon – You don't actually expect me to give something like that away, do you?

Soulsurfer2112 – It is fun. Readers also hated Rachel, Raven's clone in "A Bullseye On Her Back". She was ever easier to create.

The Cretin – Reading fan fiction while on the job? I'm shocked! So shocked that I have to confess that also do that!

Death Stroke The Kid – I'm still debating which way to go with Rose.

DeeThom – No way would BB be an easy target.

Hayhay12 - It would take a season or two.

Bluedog197 – Alexa is self centered and has no scruples.

Guest – Thanks for the heads up!

JOHNXgambit – And Slade knows that his controlling grasp on BB has been weakened.

JasonVUK – Well, he does sound different when he portrays Slade. The hallmark of a good voice actor.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Now I know I spoiled you with those long chapters. But really, sometimes a chapter can be too long, especially of it rambles, don't you think?

BartWLewis - Poor Alexa, she's just a misunderstood sociopath!

Dragonkyng – We're getting there. There will be a lot of epilogue material too.


	44. He's Mine

The sound of gears turning filled the room.

"Rose, your performance was unacceptable."

"I'm sorry, father."

"We lost one of our hostages because of your blunder."

The young teen winced. Failure wasn't something to which she was accustomed.

"I'm sorry."

"Our grasp on the changeling has been compromised. Our entire plan is now in jeopardy."

Ravager stared at the floor, unable to look up at her father.

"Were you not my daughter, I would have killed you for committing such a thoughtless mistake."

She raised her head. "But she never got close to the box after I destroyed it, and it was still recording when I sliced it in half."

"Have you forgotten that she can teleport objects!? She probably retrieved the card when she hit you with her energy. You let her catch you off guard … have you been using your inhaler?"

Rose nodded. "Yes, father, I have."

Twice a day, once on the morning and then 12 hours later in the evening Rose would breathe in a dose from a mysterious, unlabeled inhaler her father provider her. She began taking the mysterious medication shortly after her mother, Lillian Worth, who gave birth to her out of wedlock, after a brief affair with Slade, surrendered her to her father's custody. Her mother was more than happy to be rid of the promiscuous and rebellious girl. Rose clearly remembered the last words she heard her mother say.

"Take the damn whore with you, she's clearly more yours than mine. And don't bring her back, I never want to see her again."

Lillian got her wish, as she died 4 months later in a mysterious automobile accident, when she lost control of her car and she plunged to her death from a bridge, falling into a deep river and drowning. Rose shed no tears when her father later told her what happened. Her mother rejected her as far back as she could remember, and when Slade came back out of the blue to claim her she was elated, even though she knew who he was.

"Daddy" was the opposite of mother. While he was strict with her she felt a bond that she had never experienced before. Slade began to train her in the basics and she was a quick study, sparring with Slade-bots and learning to use the Katana. Eventually, as it happens with everyone, the Peter Principle kicked in as she reached her level of incompetence and she ceased to progress. She hungered for her father's approval and when she stopped improving she became despondent.

That was when Slade told her about the military experiments performed on him. She was surprised to learn the he was basically a real world Captain America, except unlike the fictional Steve Rogers, Slade was betrayed by the military that created him when they believed he was a mistake that needed to be neutralized. His country's betrayal cost Slade his marriage and he began his dark journey, starting out as the Deathstroke the Terminator, the assassin for hire and eventually became Slade, criminal mastermind.

That was when she was given her first inhaler. She remembered well the day she inserted it into her mouth and pressed down on the housing. Upon inhaling the mist the world around her seemed to … change.

She resumed her training and with great delight she found that she could perform feats that defied belief. It was almost as if she had become a metahuman. Her strength and speed, which were already well above average, became unbelievable. And a new ability appeared: pre-cognition. Rose could foresee two to three seconds in advance. That, coupled with her enhanced strength and speed, made her a nearly invincible opponent.

Her admiration for her father grew by leaps and bounds. All she wanted to do was to be like him and earn his approval, but now, she had failed him and she felt her world crumble around her.

"It won't happen again, father."

"No it won't. Rose, I want you to double your inhaler dosage. It clearly isn't working like it was before … you can skip training today. Go to your room and rest. Tomorrow I will have a new training plan for you."

Rose obeyed her father without question and returned to her room, which was Spartan and devoid of any individuality, except for an ornate teakwood mounting display that was on top of a tall bureau, where she kept her katanas when she wasn't carrying them on her back. They were a gift from her father, who personally stole them from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. She picked up one of the swords and examined it. It was the pinnacle of Japanese craftsmanship, perfect and without flaw. It had the name of the sword smith, who patiently made it in the 17th century, etched on its side.

Ravager restored the katana to its display, suddenly feeling unworthy of possessing such a flawless blade. Unlike her, it didn't need to cheat to achieve perfection, it was genuinely without flaw.

She opened the top drawer in the bureau, which was full of inhalers. She pulled one out and inserted it into her mouth, but did not press it. She removed it from her mouth and stared at it, her eyes trembled. Every time she administered the drug there was a sense of euphoria that ran through her body … but there was another sensation … she felt as if she was someone else … a stranger in her own body.

The inhaler remained in her hand, mocking her, reminding Rose that without the cocktail of chemicals inside of it that she was just an ordinary girl. How did Nightwing do it? He held his own against her, when he disguised himself as Beast Boy. She once asked her father if Robin used chemical enhancers when the boy wonder was briefly his apprentice. The answer, of course, was no, he did not. He also told her that Nightwing had a natural advantage over her: he was a man. He had greater physical strength than she did for this simple reason, plus he had a fanatical devotion to training and cultivating his body.

Rose frowned at the inhaler, her pride suddenly feeling wounded. Slade told her she needed more of the drug. Knowing this made her feel weak, a failure. It wasn't fair; she was 100% devoted to her training. Why couldn't she have been born with powers, like the witch or the Tamaranian?

Rose was now glaring at the inhaler.

"I don't need you."

She dropped it back into the drawer, which she slammed shut.

_**-( - )-**_

"Come on, slugger, it's time to put your pajamas on … it's bedtime."

Garfield's cajoling fell on a pair of deaf, green ears. He couldn't blame Mark for not listening; everyone in the Tower was fussing over him. In addition to preparing the celebration, the princess had taken it upon herself to buy some clothes for the miniature changeling, who was handed over with just the clothes he was wearing, which was an OshKosh ensemble with little dinosaurs printed on the shirt.

The youngster was sitting on Jinx's lap, while the hextress spoon fed him ice cream. Mia, Cassie and Nightstar were sitting next to them, smiling at the toddler.

"He looks just like you, Mr. Logan." Mia remarked happily.

Raven stifled a snicker upon hearing Speedy address her husband so formally. Gar leaned towards his wife, who had Coraline in her arms. "Laugh it up, remember, you're older than me."

"By one lousy year."

Kid Flash came out of the kitchen and handed a mug of herbal tea to Raven.

"Thank you, Bart."

"My pleasure … Ma'am."

As soon as the junior speedster was out of earshot, Gar leaned a second time towards her and smiled. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could she interrupted him.

"Say it and you're a dead man."

"What? You don't like being called Ma'am?"

"It's still better than being called 'Mister'."

"Oh, I agree." He grinned with the same smile he did when he was a kid.

"You do?"

"Yes, it has a certain 'MILFY' connotation to it … very hot."

"Are you saying I'm a cougar?"

He snickered. "Of course not, you're still way too young for that."

"I see … so I'm a MILF then?"

"We'll you are a mom now, and you're hot, so technically yes, you're a MILF, my MILF."

"Oh so that's all I am to you? A roll in the hay?" She teased him.

"Well … there's more to you than that. But you can't blame a guy for noticing how hot you are."

Raven gave him a mild glare.

"Garfield … have you forgotten that I'm an empath? How can you possibly be oozing so much lust after what happened to you today?"

"What can I say? You did a great job of patching me up."

"You're a doctor, you should know better that push it so soon."

"Oh come on, I was just kidding."

"My empathic senses say otherwise."

He pecked her on the cheek before getting and walking over to where Jinx was sitting, scooping Mark up from her lap. The female Titans protested his removal as did Mark.

"Come on, kiddo, it's been a long day. Time for bed."

The Logans excused themselves and returned to their room. Raven changed Coraline's diaper and nursed her, while her mate got his son changed into his pajamas, which of course had animals printed on them, made sure he went to bathroom and had him brush his teeth. He then took him into his old room, which was now connected to Raven's old room via a new doorway. Gar smiled when he saw his old bunk beds, which Cyborg dragged out of the basement and setup in the room. He pulled the covers back on the lower bunk and Mark climbed in.

"I get to sleep in a big boy bed."

"You sure do. Did you sleep in a crib before?"

The boy nodded. "Cribs are for babies. I'm not a baby anymore; I'm a big boy now."

"You sure are, champ. This is your room now, OK. You sleep in here, do you understand?"

The boy nodded. "Will you read me a story?"

Gar furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry; buddy, but I don't we have any."

Mark pointed at a well stocked shelf.

"Wow, I guess Star does think of everything."

Gar randomly selected a book, which was titled "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." Mark grinned as his father climbed into bed with him and read him the picture book. He laughed at the mouse's increasingly ridiculous requests. Before he knew it, the mouse had come full circle and was asking for another cookie and story was over. His father tucked him into bed and kissed him on the forehead.

"Good night, Mark."

The boy's eyes widened. "Stay with me, daddy. I don't want to be alone."

"You're a big boy now, sleeping in a big boy bed, remember. Did you know that this was my bed when I was teenager … now it's yours."

"Please."

Gar tousled his son's green mop of hair. "Sorry slugger, Daddy sleeps with Raven."

"Why?"

"Why? Because we're married. Mommies and Daddies sleep together."

The boy pouted and made 'the face'. A chill went down Garfield's spine. If there was anything that could prove Mark was his son, that was it.

"It's bedtime, Mark. I'll leave a nightlight on … I'm sure Starfire bought one for you."

Beast Boy was right; a nightlight was already plugged into the wall. He turned it on and a golden faced bear began to glow.

"See, you won't be alone … Pooh Bear is here." He kissed him again. "Good night, Mark, sweet dreams."

Gar found a plush Pooh Bear, no doubt another of the princess's purchases and handed it to his son, who immediately latched onto it. He tiptoed out of the room back into his own. Coraline was asleep in her crib and Raven was sitting in their bed, reading an ancient looking book.

"Some light bedtime reading, huh? What is it?"

"An ancient Sumerian book."

"I thought those guys used scrolls and tablets."

"They did, this was transcribed during the middle ages."

"Hey." He wagged his eyebrows at her. "How about you put that book down and we have some quality time?"

"You know that you aren't allowed to have sex for a week, not until you finish healing."

"So we don't have intercourse. We can be creative."

"Have I ever told you that you're a pest?"

"I wish I had a dollar for every time you did." He wagged his eyebrows again.

Raven pursed her lips. "Define creative."

"You know … foreplay."

"Without any sex afterwards … riiiight." She droned in her monotone.

"Aw c'mon … don't make me beg."

"You already are begging … fine … I just hope we don't regret this."

Raven reached for the bottom of her Nightgown and was about to pull it over her head when she saw a green face peek over the foot of the bed.

"We have company." She announced.

Mark quickly climbed onto the bed, still clutching his plush Pooh Bear.

"Why aren't you in your bed?" His father asked him in a stern voice.

"It was scary. I want to sleep with you."

"Mark, I left the night light on, there's nothing to be …"

The toddler crawled and wedged himself between them.

"Mark!"

Still ignoring his father he snuggled up to Raven. She wrapped her arms around the boy. "You can stay with us tonight."

Gar made a face at her. "What? No fair."

She playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "When you finish healing, I'll rock your world, but tonight he's mine."

Within minutes Mark fell asleep in Raven's arms.

"He even snores like you." She smiled as she caressed his green head.

Gar smiled at the scene before him, his lustful thoughts forgotten.

"He really likes you, Rave."

She kissed Mark's forehead. "I can't explain it, Gar, but when I hold him, he feels like he's actually my boy."

He nodded. "He looks like he's yours."

"I wish … I still can't believe that sociopathic bitch Alexa gave birth to this precious child. It almost seems like a contradiction."

Gar sat up in the bed.

"Rave … what if we don't rescue Alexa?" He asked.

"Gar, as much as I hate that woman, we can't abandon her like that."

"I know … but I can fantasize."

Raven leaned over and turned off the lamp on her nightstand.

"Good night, Gar."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Night, Rave … I'm holding you to that promise."

"You know that I always keep my promises … it will be worth waiting for, I promise to blow your mind. You won't be able to walk for a day."

"I love it when you talk dirty."

"Gar?"

"Yes, Rave?"

"Shut up."

"Yes, ma'am." He replied with a grin.

_**-( - )-**_

"Man, I still miss this town."

Cyborg and Nightwing were in their respective compartments in the refurbished T-Ship. They were flying over the outer suburbs of Metropolis and the downtown area was looming ahead, with Luthor's skyscraper standing over the others, like a phallic symbol.

"This is Superman's town, though Luthor obviously doesn't agree, judging by his headquarters." Grayson remarked offhandedly through his headset. "He isn't thrilled about us coming to see Luthor again."

"What? Did Supes say anything to you?"

"Nope, but Batman did."

"What did Bats say?"

"That I should know better than to fraternize with people like Luthor, that it could tarnish our reputation."

"Since when does he care about our reputation?"

Nightwing shrugged in reply. A brief silence followed as the T-Ship approached Luthor's building.

"Hey Nightwing?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you can't tell me who you really are, even though Raven and the Grass Stain know. But tell me, what kind of relationship do you have with Bats? Is he your dad or something … I mean the dude is always butting his nose into our business and always tells you what to do."

"Haven't you noticed that I usually ignore him?"

"Except when you don't. So is he your dad?"

Grayson pursed his lips. "No, not exactly."

Victor arced his human eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked as landed the T-Ship on the building's helipad. The ever present Mercy, with her hard as flint face, was waiting for them.

"Nothing … let's get going. I want to see Luthor."

_**-( - )-**_

"So, you gentlemen have something you wish to speak with me about, something so important that it couldn't be done over the phone … so, what is it?"

Nightwing and Cyborg paced around Luthor's office, having refused to sit down.

"Slade has released the boy into our custody." The masked Titan blurted.

"I see, let me guess, Dr. Pontone is still his hostage, right?"

"Correct … the question is why? Normally the boy would have been a much more valuable hostage, since we care more about him than Alexa. She obviously has something Slade wants."

The bald magnate remained silent.

"What does she know that's so valuable? What is she withholding from Slade?"

"I can't tell you."

"What do you mean you can't tell me?"

Luthor drummed his fingers on his desk.

"Because you're a vigilante."

"You aren't making any sense."

"You don't have a security clearance of any kind, do you, Nightwing?"

"What? Of course not, I would have to reveal my identity to get one."

"Precisely. Dr. Pontone stole information which if it falls into the wrong hands could pose a threat to national security. I'm afraid that I can't share this with you."

Nightwing grunted his displeasure.

"Listen … Luthor … we've recovered the boy, so our business with Slade is done. So unless you tell us why Alexa is so important to Slade, we're walking."

"You mean you would abandon Dr. Pontone to Slade?"

"Yes … we will."

Luthor grinned. "You're bluffing."

"I know what you're thinking, that I've always been infatuated with Slade, but I'm not a kid anymore Luthor. And I know that recovering Alexa is more important to you than it is to us. So if you want my help you need to tell me what Slade wants Alexa."

"I don't believe you, Titan."

Cyborg walked to the door. "Let's go, man, this ain't our problem."

"Yeah." Grayson replied as he began to walk away.

Luthor didn't budge until they reached the door.

"Very well, you win … but you didn't hear it from me."

He gestured for them to sit, and this time they accepted his invitation. Luthor leaned forward, his hands in a prayer like gesture.

"You remember when 'The Joining' invaded the Earth?"

"How could I forget? Batman, Batgirl and I were barely able to stop them."

"That is correct; it was a close call … too close, Earth was almost lost. Anyway ... that isn't going to happen again, not if I can help it. LuthCorp was commissioned by the UN and the US government to design weapons to counter any future alien invasion."

"I've never heard of this before." Cyborg interjected.

"Like I said, it's top secret."

"And Alexa stole the blueprints for these new weapons." Nightwing added. "And she hasn't given them to Slade, at least not yet. Right?"

"That much is obvious, Nightwing. So … now that I've told you more than I should have, can I count on you recover Dr. Pontone before, in a moment of weakness, she hands the designs over to Slade?"

Nightwing sighed. "OK, we're on board."

"Excellent. If you require any resources just contact Mercy … money is not a problem for obvious reasons. Now if you'll excuse me I'm supposed to deliver a report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

Mercy suddenly appeared and led the two Titans back to their ship. They walked in silence until they reached the helipad, where the T-Ship was parked.

"If you need anything, contact me." She reminded them as the climbed into their signature jet.

"I'll remember that." Grayson replied.

The T-Ship took off and was soon at cruising altitude. Cyborg turned on the intercom and addressed his teammate. "I don't know which is worse, Luthor having super weapons or Slade having them."

"Slade is worse."

"Luthor was right, you were bluffing. He had to know that."

"I'm sure he did know … he probably also knew that if we dug deep enough we would have found out anyway … I think he just wants us skip all that and get to rescuing Alexa."

"Uh … speaking of that … how are we going to find her? I mean Slade has really covered his tracks this time."

"I'm working on it, Cy, I'm working on it."

_**-( - )-**_

A shorter chapter, but I didn't make you wait long this time.

And now the mailbag!

Me – Thanks!

JOHNXgambit – Absolutely, Grayson has grown up.

Sweetums14- And Raven looks like she's ready to adopt him.

7SheWolfShaman7 – I'm certain you're going to love the Omnibus. It will take getting used to them looking different than in the show.

BartWLewis – Now we know why Slade is hanging onto Alexa. Also, in the comics, Slade doesn't have a secret identity.

Just a Thinker – For some reason The One Eyed Bandit is my least popular story.

Guest – Thank you.

Toto Yoshio – BB is a confident guy. You'd have to be self confident to be married to someone as powerful as Raven.

krostovikraven1 – I guess NW will be left wondering. Maybe Raven can draw a picture.

Randamwriter – Ouch indeed.

Anoymous136 – They do have a lot in common.

The Cretin – Raven has no lost love for Alexa.

JasonVUK – And you will get more.

Soulsurfer2112 – They surely are tempted to ditch her.

gabylokita41 – Thanks!

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Maybe more than 7.

Dragonkyng – I'm sure it crossed her mind. There is a reason why NW handled the exchange.

Bluedog197 – Slade has always underestimated BB.

Ravenandthefire – They can't, because they're Titans.

Notabotipromise – Closure is coming. Slade's back story is in the New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 2

SuperNolon - Indeed he always is.

bigC94 – BB is SUPER lucky he married Raven and not Terra.

Iskandar06 – Thanks!

DeeThom – Other than Mark being safe with the Logans, everything else is in a tailspin.

Shadico – It had to be a tough choice for Slade. I hope you like the "Markness" in this chapter.

mlbv-grimm – You know it did.

titanfan45 – You never know, those chats can sink in when you least expect it.


End file.
